Optical member with handling portion and method for manufacturing optical member and method for mounting optical member and optical module

ABSTRACT

A lens element  1  is formed by making use of an optical substrate, and includes a lens portion  2 , an edge portion  6  in the form of a circular arc provided along the circumference of the lens portion  2 , and a handling portion  4  which is integrated with the lens portion  2  and the edge portion  6  as well and extends with a width wider than that of the lens portion  2 . The handling portion  4  can be caught and held by using a grasping means, a vacuum sucking means and so forth. With this, the lens element  1  can be handled by catching the handling portion  4  without directly touching the lens element  1 , thus the lens element  1  being neither damaged nor contaminated, and being stably handled with ease.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an optical member such as a lenselement preferably applicable to an optical communication devices,tools, and systems and more particularly, to an optical member such as amicro-lens suitable for constituting things by mean of a microscopicoptical element of the diffraction type such as a Computer GeneratedHolographic (CGH) optical element. The invention also relates to amethod for manufacturing the optical member as described above, anoptical module, and a method for mounting the optical member asmentioned above.

[0003] 2. Prior Art

[0004] With regard to the optical member coupled to a laser diode and anoptical fiber in the field of the optical communication, the Japanesepatent publication No. 7-199006 and the ditto No. 11-295561 have alreadydisclosed it publicly. The former proposes an optical coupling by meansof a ball lens in the form of a sphere while the latter describes acircular lens provided with an annular portion formed along the externaledge of the lens.

[0005] There has been also devised and reported an optical member like alens which are manufactured by using the photo-lithography and etchingtechnique and used in the above field. In this example, a lens or thelike having a desired shape is formed on the silicon substrate by usingthe photolithographic process.

[0006] Being formed in this way, the lenses are often treated in thethin film formation process to be coated with a tin film, ananti-reflection film, a filtration film and so forth, for instance.

[0007] These lenses are arranged and mounted in their respectivepredetermined positions on a semiconductor substrate, on which a laserdiode, an optical fiber, and other elements are mounted, such that therespective optical axes of them meets those of corresponding elements.At the time of mounting, these lenses are arranged on the correspondinggrooves formed on the semiconductor substrate, thereby beingappropriately positioned to be coupled to the laser diode, the opticalfiber and other corresponding elements.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] However, the diameter of the conventional micro-lens like theball lens or the lens provided with the annular portion as describeabove, is no more than 100 μm through 200 μm. Consequently, it wouldnever be easy to handle and correctly arrange such a minute micro-lensin a predetermined position.

[0009] Then, even if trying to handle and hold the minute micro-lens bymaking use of the negative pressure, the micro-lens provided with theannular portion has a circular curved surface along the circumferencethereof, so that it would not properly work to suck in and hold suchlens by utilizing the negative pressure from the side portion of thelens.

[0010] Similarly, in case of the lens as produced in the above processutilizing the photolithographic etching, the lens size becomes also verysmall. In this manufacturing process, a lot of lens elements are formedin usual on a single silicon substrate, and at the stage where the lenselement formation is completed, lens elements are split into a lot ofindividual lens elements. Consequently, it would become so difficult tocollect and handle them one by one.

[0011] Furthermore, in the thin film formation process for forming ananti-reflection film and so on, a large number of individual lenses haveto be drawn up in a predetermined form such that their respectivesurfaces to be coated with the thin film are kept at a same level, andthen, to be moved to the vapor deposition process. This is also neithereasy nor efficient.

[0012] Similarly, in case of the process of mounting the individual lenselements, it would also be not easy to handle and arrange such minutelens elements in the corresponding predetermined positions,respectively.

[0013] Heretofore, when mounting the lens element like this on thesupporting substrate, there has been often taken such a way that thepositioning of each element is carried out by using the upper side ofthe lens formation plane as a reference point, and the mounting is thenexecuted by bringing the side face of the lens formation plane intocontact with the supporting substrate. However, this way sometimescauses a mounting error depending on the external form of the lenselement. For instance, if the angle made by the lens formation plane andthe said face thereof includes a certain error, there is caused adistance error related to the slant of the lens element. This distanceerror becomes a significant cause which reduces the efficiency of theoptical coupling between the lens element and the laser diode, opticalfiber, and so forth.

[0014] Then, the invention has been made for obviating such problems asdescribed above. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention toprovide an optical member which can be handled with ease, a method formanufacturing the same, and an optical module including the same.Furthermore, another object of the invention is to provide an opticalmember which can be sucked in and held with ease by utilizing negativepressure. Still further, another object of the invention is to providean optical member which can be mounted with high accuracy and ease, amethod for mounting the same, and an optical module packaged with highaccuracy and ease.

[0015] In order to solve problems as described above, according to theinvention, there is provided an optical member including a luminous fluxconversion portion formed on the surface of an optical substrate; anedge portion formed along a part of the circumference of the luminousflux conversion portion; and a handling portion which is provided on theside of the other part of the circumference of the luminous fluxconversion portion in a plane approximately in parallel with the surfaceof the luminous flux conversion portion, and is extended with a widthwider than the luminous flux portion.

[0016] In the above optical member as described above, the opticalmember includes an optical element, an optical element aggregation, anoptical element aggregation group and so forth; to put it more concrete,a lens element, a lens element aggregation, a lens element aggregationgroup, lens array and so forth.

[0017] In the above optical member as described above, thisspecification and scope of claims for patent as attached thereto, theluminous conversion portion means those which have the function ofconverting the luminous flux, for instance, the function of converging,diverging, reflecting, deflecting the luminous flux or the like. Also,depending on the arrangement condition of it, the luminous conversionportion includes those which convert the incident luminous flux intoparallel light rays, or divide the incident luminous flux into aplurality of component waves. The lens, diffraction optical element, andforth are concrete examples of the luminous flux conversion portion.

[0018] The optical substrate may be formed by means of a crystallinesubstrate such as a silicon crystal substrate. Besides, the crystalline.substrate may be formed by using other materials than silicon, forinstance, GaAs, InP, GaP, SiC, Ge and so forth.

[0019] According to the constitution of the optical member as describedabove, the handling portion can be held by means of a griping means or asuction means utilizing the negative pressure. With this, when handlingthe optical member, it becomes possible to hold the optical member bythe handling portion thereof. Comparing with the prior art, therefore,the optical member can be much easily handled neither giving any damageto the luminous conversion portion nor contaminating the surface of thesame.

[0020] At that time, the above handling portion may be constituted suchthat it has a form extending straightforward and is integrated with theedge portion at an approximately middle point between both ends thereof.The handling portion may take the form of an approximately rectangularparallelepiped, the edge portion may take the form of an approximatelycircular arc, and the circular arc form may extend from the formationplane side of the luminous flux conversion portion to the opposite planeside thereof, thereby forming a projection portion of thesemi-cylindrical type.

[0021] It is preferable for the handling portion to have a flat plane.With this flat plane, the handling portion can be easily sucked in andheld with ease by means of the suction means. At that time, the handlingportion may be constituted such that it has a form extendingstraightforward and at the same time while the flat plane is a planeexisting along the direction toward which the handling portion extends,and is approximately vertical to the surface of the luminous fluxconversion portion.

[0022] It is preferable that the handling portion is asymmetricallyformed with respect to a virtual plane which includes the optical axisof the luminous flux conversion portion and goes across the handlingportion, in order to identify either one of both surfaces of the opticalsubstrate, or that the handling portion includes a guide mark foridentifying either one of both surfaces of the optical substrate.

[0023] If the luminous flux conversion portion is formed on either oneface of the optical substrate, by making the handling portion asymmetricor by putting the guide mark on the handling portion, it isdiscriminated with ease on which one face the luminous flux is. On onehand, even if luminous flux conversion portions having different opticalcharacteristics are respectively formed on the both faces of the opticalsubstrate, it is also discriminated with ease which luminous fluxconversion portion is on which face.

[0024] The optical member is an optical member to be mounted on asupporting substrate and is preferably with a positioning mark formed onthe plane which is approximately vertical to the surface of the luminousflux conversion portion in the handling portion and approaches thesupporting substrate at the time of mounting the optical member.

[0025] According to such a constitution as described above, as thepositioning of the optical element can be carried out by using thepositioning mark, the optical element can be packaged with high accuracyand with ease as well, irrespective of the external form thereof.

[0026] At that time, the positioning mark may take the form of a groove,of which the cross section has one of the shapes of an approximatelyV-shape, an approximately trapezoid shape, an approximately semicircularshape, an approximately rectangle shape, and an approximately squareshape.

[0027] It is preferable that the positioning mark is asymmetricallyformed with respect to a virtual plane which includes the optical axisof the luminous flux conversion portion and goes across the handlingportion, in order to identify either one of both surfaces of the opticalsubstrate. According to the constitution like this, if the luminous fluxconversion portion is formed on either one face of the opticalsubstrate, by making the handling portion asymmetric, it isdiscriminated with ease with the help of the mark on which one face theluminous flux is. On one hand, even if luminous flux conversion portionshaving different optical characteristics are respectively formed on theboth faces of the optical substrate, it is discriminated also with easewhich luminous flux conversion portion is on which face.

[0028] The optical member is an optical member which is arranged on agroove portion as formed on the supporting substrate for use inarrangement of optical members, such that it opposes to the end face ofan optical fiber placed on the groove portion and achieves an opticalcoupling to the optical fiber. The edge portion has a circular arc form,which extends from the luminous flux conversion portion formation planeside to the opposite plane side thereof, and the outer diameter of thecircular arc shape is preferably made equal to that of the opticalfiber. According to the constitution like this, the both optical axes ofthe optical fiber arranged on the groove portion for use in the memberarrangement and the optical member can be coincided with each otherrelatively with high accuracy and with ease as well.

[0029] According to the other aspect of the invention, there is providedan optical member including a plurality of luminous flux conversionportions formed on the surface of an optical substrate; edge portionsformed along a part of respective circumferences of a plurality of theluminous flux conversion portions; and a handling/supporting portionwhich is provided on the side of the other part of respectivecircumferences of a plurality of the luminous flux conversion portionsand is extended in a plane approximately in parallel with the surface ofthe luminous flux conversion portions, and connects and supports aplurality of the luminous flux conversion portions together.

[0030] At that time, a plurality of luminous conversion portions asdescribed above may take the form of an array and thehandling/supporting may be constituted such that it takes the formextending along the direction toward which the array extends.

[0031] According to another aspect of the invention, there is providedan optical member manufactured by a manufacturing method including:

[0032] the first step of forming a plurality of luminous flux conversionportions in the form of an array on an optical substrate; and

[0033] the second step of forming an edge portion along a part of thecircumference of each of the luminous flux conversion portions, and ahandling supporting portion which is provided on the side of the otherpart of the circumference of each of the luminous flux conversionportions and is extended to connect and support at least two of theluminous flux conversion portions together along the array of theluminous flux conversion portions, whereby there is obtained an opticalelement aggregation provided with a plurality of the luminous fluxconversion portions, edge portions corresponding to a plurality of theluminous flux conversion portions, and the handling/supporting portionconnecting and supporting these together, the optical member including:

[0034] at least one of the luminous flux conversion portions;

[0035] an edge portion formed along a part of the luminous fluxconversion portion; and

[0036] a handling/supporting portion connecting and supporting thesetogether.

[0037] According to another aspect of the invention, there is providedan optical member manufactured by a manufacturing method including:

[0038] the first step of forming a plurality of luminous flux conversionportions in the form of an array on an optical substrate;

[0039] the second step of forming an edge portion along a part of thecircumference of each of the luminous flux conversion portions, and ahandling/supporting portion which is provided on the side of the otherpart of the circumference of each of the luminous flux conversionportions and is extended to connect and support at least two of theluminous flux conversion portions together along the array of theluminous flux conversion portions, whereby there is obtained an opticalelement aggregation provided with a plurality of the luminous fluxconversion portions, edge portions corresponding to a plurality of theluminous flux conversion portions, and the handling/supporting portionconnecting and supporting these together; and

[0040] the third step of cutting the handling/supporting portion at apredetermined portion, thereby producing a plurality of individuallyseparated optical elements of which each includes at least one of theluminous flux conversion portions, the optical member including:

[0041] at least one of the luminous flux conversion portions;

[0042] an edge portion formed along a part of the luminous fluxconversion portion; and

[0043] a handling portion which is formed by cutting thehandling/supporting portion and is extended on the side of the otherpart of the circumstance of the luminous flux conversion portion.

[0044] According to another aspect of the invention, an optical membermanufactured by a manufacturing method including:

[0045] the first step of forming a plurality of luminous flux conversionportions in the form of an array on an optical substrate;

[0046] the second step of forming an edge portion along a part of thecircumference of each luminous flux conversion portions, ahandling/supporting portion which is provided on the side of the otherpart of the circumference of each of the luminous flux conversionportions and is extended to connect and support at least two luminousflux conversion portions together along the array of the luminousconversion portions, and a nick in at least one predetermined positioncorresponding to the interval between two of the luminous fluxconversion portions in the handling/supporting portion, whereby there isobtained an optical element aggregation provided with a plurality of theluminous flux conversion portions, edge portions corresponding to aplurality of the luminous flux conversion portions, and thehandling/supporting portion connecting and supporting these together;and

[0047] the third step of cutting the handling/supporting portion at anick position, thereby producing a plurality of individually separatedoptical elements of which each includes at least one of the luminousflux conversion portions, the optical member including:

[0048] at least one of the luminous flux conversion portions;

[0049] an edge portion formed along a part of the luminous fluxconversion portion; and

[0050] a handling portion which is formed by cutting thehandling/supporting portion and is extended on the side of the otherpart of the circumstance of the luminous flux conversion portion, thehandling portion having a part of the nick and a cut face on the sideface thereof.

[0051] In all the optical members as described above, the opticalsubstrate may be a silicon crystalline substrate, the luminous fluxconversion portion may be made up of diffractive optical elements, andthe luminous flux conversion portion may be a lens.

[0052] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod for manufacturing an optical member including the first step offorming a plurality of luminous flux conversion portions in the form ofan array on an optical substrate; and the second step of forming an edgeportion along a part of the circumference of each of the luminous fluxconversion portions, and a handling/supporting portion which is providedon the side of the other part of the circumference of each of theluminous flux conversion portions and is extended to connect and supportat least two of the luminous flux conversion portions together along thearray of the luminous flux conversion portions, whereby there isobtained an optical element aggregation provided with a plurality of theluminous flux conversion portions, edge portions corresponding to aplurality of the luminous flux conversion portions, and thehandling/supporting portion connecting and supporting these together.

[0053] According to the constitution like this, a plurality of luminousflux conversion portions can be integrated into one body by connectingand supporting them by the handling/supporting portion, thus enablingthem to be handled in a lump. With this, the optical member can becollected and handled with ease and also, it can be easily moved to thethin film formation process for forming coating films, for instance ananti-reflection film, a filter film, and so forth.

[0054] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod for manufacturing an optical member including the first step offorming a plurality of luminous flux conversion portions in the form ofan array on the surface of an upper silicon layer surface of a opticalsubstrate made up of a lower silicon layer, an upper silicon layer and amiddle layer intervening therebetween; the second step of forming a edgeportion along a part of the circumference of each of the luminous fluxconversion portions by etching the upper silicon layer and at the sametime, forming a handling/supporting portion by etching the upper siliconlayer, the handling/supporting portion being provided on the side ofother part of the circumference of each of the luminous flux conversionportions and extended to connect and support at least two of theluminous flux conversion portions together along the array of theluminous flux conversion portions, thereby obtaining an optical elementaggregation provide with a plurality of the luminous flux conversionportions, edge portions corresponding to the luminous flux conversionportions, and the handling/supporting portion for connecting andsupporting these altogether; and the third step of removing the middlelayer, thereby separating the lower silicon layer from the opticalelement aggregation as obtained by the second step.

[0055] According to the constitution like this, a plurality of luminousflux conversion portions can be integrated into one body by connectingand supporting them by the handling/supporting portion, thus enablingthem to be handled in a lump. With this, the optical member can becollected and handled with ease and also, it can be easily moved to thethin film formation process for forming coating films, for instance ananti-reflection film, a filter film, and so forth. Furthermore, whenetching the silicon layer, for instance, the photolithographic etchingmethod as used in the semiconductor manufacturing technique can beadopted and a lot of optical members can be formed in a lump with highaccuracy.

[0056] In the method for manufacturing the optical member as describedabove, it may be possible to two-dimensionally arrange a plurality ofluminous flux conversion portions in a plane approximately in parallelwith the surface of the luminous flux conversion portions in the firststep, and in the second step, to form a plurality of optical elementaggregations and at the same time, a connecting portion for connectingat least each one side end of the handling/supporting potions of aplurality of the above optical element aggregations with one another,thereby obtaining an optical element aggregation group. Or again, it maybe possible to two-dimensionally arrange a plurality of luminous fluxconversion portions in a plane approximately in parallel with thesurface of the luminous flux conversion portions in the first step, andin the second step, to form a plurality of optical element aggregationsand at the same time, a connecting portion for connecting both ends ofthe handling/supporting potions of a plurality of the above opticalelement aggregations with one another, thereby obtaining an opticalelement aggregation group.

[0057] According to the constitution as described above, a plurality ofluminous flux conversion portions are two-dimensionally arranged and anoptical element aggregation group consisting of a plurality of opticalelement aggregations connected with each other is formed, so that theseplural optical element aggregations can be handled in a lump, thushandling of them being made much easier.

[0058] The above method for manufacturing the optical member may befurther provided with a step of forming a frame in at least a part ofthe circumferential edge portion of the optical substrate, the framebeing connected with the optical element aggregation group through theconnecting portion. According the constitution like this, the opticalelement aggregation group is firmly supported by the frame associatedtherewith, so that it becomes possible to handle it by means of asuitable automatic machine.

[0059] The above method for manufacturing the optical member may befurther provided with a step of cutting the handling/supporting portionat a predetermined position, thereby producing individually separatedoptical elements of which each has at least one luminous flux conversionportion. According to the constitution like this, the individuallyseparated optical elements can be produced from the optical elementaggregation or the optical element aggregation group by a desired numberof them.

[0060] The above second step may further include the steps of providinga nick in at least one predetermined position corresponding to theinterval between the luminous flux conversion portions in thehandling/supporting portion at the time of forming thehandling/supporting portion in the second step and cutting thehandling/supporting portion at the position of the nick, therebyproducing individually separated optical elements of which each has atleast one luminous flux conversion portion. According to theconstitution like this, the work for separating the optical elementaggregation or the optical element aggregation group into individuallyseparated ones is facilitated.

[0061] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided amethod for mounting an optical member having a luminous flux conversionportion on a supporting substrate, including the steps of forming thefirst mark for positioning on the plane of the optical member which isapproximately vertical to the surface of the luminous flux conversionportion and approaches the supporting substrate at the time of mountingthe optical member; and forming the second mark for positioning on thesupporting substrate, whereby the optical member is suitably mounted onthe supporting substrate with the help of the first mark of the opticalmember and the second mark on the supporting substrate as well.

[0062] According to the constitution like this, the optical member canbe mounted with high accuracy and ease as well by using the firstpositioning mark for the optical member and the second positioning markfor a position on the supporting substrate as reference marks. At thistime, the first positioning mark for the optical member may take theform of a groove while the second positioning mark for a position on thesupporting substrate may take the form of a recess portion.

[0063] In the above method, the optical member may include a luminousflux conversion portion formed on the surface of an optical substrate,an edge portion formed along a part of the circumference of the luminousflux conversion portion, and a handling portion which is provided on theside of the other part of the circumference of the luminous fluxconversion portion in a plane approximately in parallel with the surfaceof the luminous flux conversion portion, and is extended with a widthwider than the luminous flux portion, wherein the above positioninggroove may be provided on the handling portion.

[0064] According to another aspect, there is provided a module includinga supporting substrate on the surface of which a groove portion for usein arranging members thereon is formed; an optical fiber arranged on thegroove portion; and an optical member arranged on said groove portionsuch that it opposes to the end face of the optical fiber and achievesan optical coupling thereto, wherein the optical member including aluminous flux conversion portion formed on the surface of an opticalsubstrate; an edge portion formed along a part of the circumference ofthe luminous flux conversion portion; and a handling portion which isprovided on the side of the other part of the circumference of theluminous flux conversion portion in a plane approximately in parallelwith the surface of the luminous flux conversion portion, and isextended with a width wider than the luminous flux portion.

[0065] At that time, the edge portion may have a circular arc form,which extends from the luminous flux conversion portion formation planeside to the opposite plane side thereof, and the outer diameter of thecircular arc shape may be made equal to that of the optical fiber.

[0066] In the module as described above, the supporting substrate isfurther provided with a positioning mark, the optical member is furtherprovided with a positioning groove as formed in a plane which isapproximately vertical to the surface of the luminous flux conversionportion in the handling portion and approaches the supporting substrateat the time of mounting optical members, and the optical member isarranged in part on the groove portion formed on the supportingsubstrate with the help of the positioning groove of the optical memberand the positioning mark on the supporting substrate.

[0067] According to the constitution like this, the optical member isarranged in part on the groove portion by carrying out the positioningusing the groove of the optical member and the mark on the supportingsubstrate, so that a module packaged with high accuracy can be provided.

[0068] At that time, the above mark may be a recess portion whichintersects the groove portion at right angles.

[0069] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided amodule including a supporting substrate on the surface of which aplurality of groove portions for use in arranging members thereon isformed; a plurality of optical fibers arranged on each of the grooveportion; and optical members arranged on each of said groove portionssuch that each of them opposes to each end face of each of the opticalfibers and achieves an optical coupling thereto, wherein the opticalmember includes a plurality of luminous flux conversion portions formedon the surface of an optical substrate; edge portions formed along apart of respective circumference of the luminous flux conversionportion; and a handling/supporting portion which is provided on the sideof the other part of respective circumference of a plurality of theluminous flux conversion portions in a plane approximately in parallelwith the surface of the luminous flux conversion portion, and isextended to connect and support a plurality of the luminous fluxconversion portions together.

[0070] At that time, each end face of a plurality of the optical fibersmay be arranged to oppose to each of a plurality of luminous fluxconversion portions of the optical member, and each of the edge portionsmay have a circular arc form, which extends from the luminous fluxconversion portion formation plane side to the opposite plane sidethereof, and the outer diameter of the circular arc shape may be madeequal to that of each of the optical fibers opposing to each of theluminous flux conversion portions corresponding to each of the edgeportion.

[0071] In the module as described above, the supporting substrate may befurther provided with a positioning mark, the optical member may befurther provided with a positioning groove as formed in a plane which isapproximately vertical to the surface of the luminous flux conversionportion in the handling/supporting portion and approaches the supportingsubstrate at the time of mounting optical members, and the opticalmember is arranged in part on the groove portion formed on thesupporting substrate with the help of the positioning groove of theoptical member and the positioning mark on the supporting substrate.

[0072] At that time, the above mark may be a recess portion whichintersects the groove portion at right angles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0073] The above and other features of the invention and the concomitantadvantages will be better understood and appreciated by persons skilledin the field to which the invention pertains in view of the followingdescription given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings whichillustrate preferred embodiments. In the drawings:

[0074]FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the constitution of a lenselement according to the first embodiment of the invention;

[0075]FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the constitution of a lenselement according to the second embodiment of the invention;

[0076]FIGS. 3A through 3C are diagrams showing the constitution of alens element according to the third embodiment of the invention, whereinFIG. 3A is a perspective view of the lens element, FIG. 3B a bottom viewof the same, and FIG. 3C a side view of the same;

[0077]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the constitution of a lenselement array according to the fourth embodiment of the invention;

[0078]FIGS. 5A through 5D are typical sectional views for explaining thesteps of manufacturing a lens element according to the fifth embodimentof the invention;

[0079]FIG. 6 is a top plan view showing the constitution of a lenselement aggregation as formed on a substrate in the manufacturing stepsas illustrated in FIG. 5;

[0080]FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the principal part of theconstitution of the lens element aggregation as formed in the process ofmanufacturing lens elements according to the fifth embodiment of theinvention;

[0081]FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the principal part of theconstitution of a lens element aggregation as formed in the process ofmanufacturing lens elements according to the sixth embodiment of theinvention;

[0082]FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing the constitution of a lenselement produced from the lens element aggregations as shown in FIG. 8;

[0083]FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the principal part of theconstitution with regard to the variation of the lens elementaggregation as shown in FIG. 8;

[0084]FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the principal part of theconstitution of a lens element aggregation as formed in the process ofmanufacturing lens elements according to the seventh embodiment of theinvention;

[0085]FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a lens element aggregation asformed in the process of manufacturing lens elements according to theeighth embodiment of the invention;

[0086]FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining a method formanufacturing a lens element according to the ninth embodiment of theinvention, wherein FIG. 13A is a plan view showing the constitution of alens element aggregation group and a frame and FIG. 13B is an enlargedview showing the principal part of the lens element aggregation group;

[0087]FIGS. 14A through 14e are typical sectional views for explainingthe steps of manufacturing lens elements according to the ninthembodiment of the invention;

[0088]FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an optical module according tothe tenth embodiment of the invention;

[0089]FIG. 16 is a perspective view of a supporting substrate as usedfor an optical module according to the eleventh embodiment of theinvention;

[0090]FIGS. 17A and 17B are diagrams showing the optical moduleaccording to the eleventh embodiment of the invention, wherein FIG. 17Ais a top view of the optical module and FIG. 17B is a sectional viewtaken on line C-C′ of FIG. 17A;

[0091]FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a supporting substrate foruse in an optical module according to the twelfth embodiment of theinvention;

[0092]FIGS. 19A and 19B are diagrams showing the optical modulesaccording to the twelfth embodiment of the invention, wherein FIG. 19Ais a top plan view of the optical module and FIG. 19B is a sectionalview taken along a line D-D′ of FIG. 19A;

[0093]FIGS. 20A and 20B are diagrams showing the external form in thedirection of side face of two different kinds of lens elements havingdifferent external form; and

[0094]FIGS. 21A and 21B are sectional views showing the state where thelens element as shown in FIG. 20 is packaged by means of theconventional package method.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0095] The invention will now be described in detail with reference tothe accompanying drawings. In the following description and theaccompanying drawings, constituents of the invention having almost samefunction and structure will be denoted with same reference numerals inorder to avoid the redundant iterative description. FIG. 1 is aperspective view for showing the constitution of a lens element 1, whichis formed of an optical substrate including a lens portion 2 and a lenshandling portion (referred to merely as “handling portion” hereinafter)4 integrated with the lens portion 2.

[0096] The lens portion 2 takes the form of a circle in this example andis formed as a diffractive optical element. This lens portion 2 may beformed as a Computer Generated Holographic (CGH) optical element, whichis one of diffractive optical elements. In general, this CGH opticalelement is formed according to the following method, which includes thesteps of first designing, with aid of the computer, a photomask patternnecessary for obtaining a desired optical characteristic based on theoptical-path difference function of an optical element having a desiredoptical characteristic, applying the mask pattern to a desired part onthe surface of the optical substrate, and applying a etching process tothat part, thereby forming a diffractive optical element having adesired optical characteristic.

[0097] The handling portion 4 is integrated with the lens portion 2, anedge portion 6, and a projection portion 9 to form a single body. Asshown in FIG. 1, the handling portion 4 has a linearly extending shape,and the middle portion between both ends thereof is extended to surroundthe upper side of the outer periphery of the lens portion 2. Also, thehandling portion 4 has a width wider than that of the lens portion 2 ina plane approximately in parallel with the surface of the lens portion 2and takes the form of an almost rectangular parallelepiped as a whole.In this example, the handling portion 4 is made such that it becomessymmetrical with regard to a virtual plane P passing the optical axis ofthe lens portion 2 and being perpendicular to the surface of the lensportion 2 as well as to the extension direction of the handling portion4. In the lens element 1, the surface on which the lens portion 2 isformed is referred to as a lens formation plane hereinafter. In otherwords, the lens formation plane includes one surface of the handlingportion 4.

[0098] For instance, the dimension of the handling portion 4 may be setto be 500 μm width (w) in the lateral direction of the surfaceapproximately in parallel with the lens formation plane, 100 μm height(h) in the vertical direction, and 100 μm thickness (t) in the verticaldirection perpendicular to the lens formation plane.

[0099] The upper surface perpendicular to the height (h) direction ofthe handling portion 4 is referred to as an upper flat plane 7. Thisupper flat plane 7 is a flat surface which extends in the longitudinaldirection of the handling portion 4 and is almost at a right angle tothe lens formation plane. Two lower surfaces 8 opposing to the upperflat plane 7 on the both sides of the projection portion 9 are surfacesapproaching a lens supporting plate when the lens element 1 is mountedon the lens supporting plate. Furthermore, the handling portion 4 hastwo side surfaces 12 standing at a right angle to the lens formationplane and the upper flat plane 7 as well.

[0100] As described above, the lens element 1 is provided with thehandling portion 4 projecting in the both lateral directions from thelens portion 2 along the surface of the lens portion 2, so that itbecomes possible to handle the lens element 1 by chucking the handlingportion 4 by means of a chucking means. It also becomes possible tohandle the lens element 1 by vacuum holding the upper flat plane 7 withthe help of a vacuum holding means like a negatively pressurized sucker.

[0101] Like this, as the lens element 1 can be handled by making use ofthe handling portion 4, it is prevented that the above chucking means orvacuum holding means is directly in contact with the lens portion 2.With this, the lens portion 2 is not only prevented from beingcontaminated with oily contaminants, dusts, and so forth, which arebrought in by such direct contact as mentioned above, but also preventedfrom being damaged by such direct contact.

[0102] Accordingly, if the handling portion 4 is used for mounting thelens element 1 on the supporting plate, the lens element 1 can bearranged relatively with ease in a predetermined right position and in apredetermined posture as well. With this, the work for assembling anoptical module using the lens element 1 can be speeded up andfacilitated very much.

[0103] The edge portion 6 is located on the lower side of the lensportion 2 and has a shape like a circular arc lying along thecircumference of the lens portion 2. The circular arc shaped externalform of the edge portion 6 extends from the lens formation plane up to aplane opposing thereto and constitutes a barrel roof shaped portion, ora semi-cylindrical one, which is a part of a circular column having theoptical axis of the lens portion 2 as its center axis. This barrel roofshaped portion projecting from the mid portion of the handling portion 4is referred to as a projection portion 9 hereinafter. Two end faces ofthis projection portion 9 and the predetermined planes of the handlingportion 4 corresponding thereto are on the same plane, respectively, andthe lens portion 2 is formed on the plane made up of one end face ofthis projection portion 9 and the predetermined plane of the handlingportion 4 corresponding thereto.

[0104] The outer diameter of the circular arc of this projection portion9 is preferably designed such that it coincides with the outer diameterof the optical fiber optically coupled with the lens element 1 to bemounted on a semiconductor supporting substrate. With this, it becomespossible to match the optical axis of the lens element 1 with that ofthe optical fiber with ease.

[0105] In this example, the circular arc shaped external form of theedge portion 6 is designed such that the outer diameter of the circulararc portion becomes almost constant across the thickness t from the lensformation plane to the rear side plane opposing thereto. If needed,however, it may be possible to design the outer diameter such that ithas a certain gradient across the thickness t.

[0106] A crystalline substrate can be used as an optical substrate forforming the lens element 1. Especially, if the wave length of the lightsource of an optical system, to which the lens element 1 is applied, is1.3 μm or 1.55 μm, a silicon crystal substrate can be used as theoptical substrate.

[0107]FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the constitution of a lenselement 21 according to the second embodiment of the invention. The lenselement 21 has a mark 20 as put on the upper flat plane 7 of thehandling portion 4, and except this point, the lens element 21 has thesame constitution as the lens element 1, thus refraining the iterativedescription thereabout. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the mark 20 ismade in the form of a groove as put on one side portion of the upperflat plane 7 of the handling portion 4. Being provided with the mark 20like this, the handling portion 4 comes to be asymmetric with respect toa virtual plane P which passes through the optical axis of the lensportion 2 and is perpendicular to the surface of the lens portion2 andto the extending direction of the handling portion 4 as well. The lensportion 2 is formed only on one side plane of the optical substrate.

[0108] In FIG. 2, seeing the lens element 21 placed in such a positionthat the mark 20 comes on the left side of the figure, you would see itwith ease, with the help of the mark 20, that the lens portion 2 appearson this side i.e. on your seeing side. That is, the mark 20 has thefunction of explicitly indicating which side of both planes of theoptical substrate the lens portion 2 is formed on.

[0109] In addition, a lens portion may be formed on the plane opposingto the lens formation plane as shown in FIG. 2. In this case, even iflens portions formed on both planes have different opticalcharacteristics, the plane of each lens portion can be discriminatedwith ease by means of the mark 20.

[0110] As described above, with provision of the mark 20, the lensportion 2 of the lens element 21 can be discriminated with ease in thework for arranging the lens element 21 in a predetermined place.Therefore, the assembling work of an optical module using the lenselement 21 is made very much easier.

[0111] Furthermore, it is possible to provide an extension portion 4′ onbehalf of forming the mark 20, the extension portion 4′ extending in onedirection, either left or right direction, from a virtual plane P asshown by a virtual line (one dot chain line) of FIG. 2. With this, thehandling portion 4 can be made asymmetric with regard to the virtualplane P, and the lens portion 2 of the optical substrate can bediscriminated with ease by making use of this asymmetry of the handlingportion 4. It is also allowed for the handling portion 4 to have both ofthe mark 20 and the extension portion 4′.

[0112] In the above, there has been described the example wherein thehandling portion 4 is laterally and largely extended in both directions,going across the lens portion 2 on the lens formation plane. However,the invention should not be limited to this illustrative embodiment. Forinstance, the handling portion 4 can be made to take a so-calledcantilever-shaped form or an inverted L-shaped form. That is, handlingportion 4 extends in the only one lateral direction from the lensportion 2, but not in the other lateral direction from the same.

[0113] Constitution of a lens element 31 according to the thirdembodiment of the invention is shown in FIGS. 3A through 3C, whereinFIG. 3A is a perspective view of the lens element 31, FIG. 3B a bottomview of the same, and FIG. 3C a side plan view of the external form ofthe same, respectively. As will be seen from the above three figures,the lens element 31 is provided with three positioning grooves 10 a, 10b, and 10 c formed on its bottom plane 8. As shown in FIG. 3C, theheight of the lens element 31 is not uniform but slightly varied in thedirection of its thickness t. The other constitution is the same as thatof the lens element 1, thus the description thereof being refrained.

[0114] Three grooves 10 a, 10 b, and 10 c are formed to open toward thelens formation plane and the opposite plane thereof as well, and toextend from the lens formation plane side to the opposite plane thereof,going across the thickness t of the lens element 31. At least one ofthree grooves 10 a, 10 b, and 10 c is used for positioning of the lenselement 31 when mounting it on the supporting substrate. In the exampleas shown in FIG. 3, each of grooves 10 a, 10 b, and 10 c has anapproximately square section, but the sectional shape should not belimited to this. Various sectional shapes may be adopted, for instance aV-shape or the like, a trapezoid or the like, a semicircle or the like,a rectangular or the like, and so forth. The mark as used for thepurpose of positioning is not limited to the groove but may be anythingif it can function as a guide mark.

[0115] Now, assuming a virtual plane P which passes the optical axis ofthe lens portion 2 and is perpendicular to the extending direction ofthe handling portion 4, two grooves 10 a and 10 c are formed in thepositions opposing to each other with respect to the vertical plane P.Again, assuming that the virtual plane P is centered, the grooves 10 band 10 c are formed on the same side with respect to the virtual planeP. Consequently, the groove 10 a and the grooves 10 b and 10 c areasymmetrically arranged as s whole. Like this, if asymmetricallyarranging the grooves, the lens formation plane and the plane opposingthereto can be discriminated with ease, thereby the assembling work ofan optical module using the lens element 31 being further facilitated.Needless to say, the groove 10 a and either the groove 10 b or thegroove 10 c may be symmetrically positioned with regard to the verticalplane P.

[0116] In the next, the change of the height H will be described. Let aside plane visible in the width w direction of the handling portion 4 bea side plane 12. Also, let a side plane visible in the width w directionof the projection portion 9 be a side plane 13. Furthermore, let eachvertical height of the side planes 12 and 13 be heights h₁ and h₂,respectively. In other words, the distance from the top of theprojection portion 9 to the bottom plane 8 corresponds to the height h₂.The height H is defined as a sum of the height h₁ of the side plane 12of the handling portion 4 and the height h₂ of the side plane 13 of theprojection portion 9. That is, the height H corresponds to the height ofthe lens element 31 when seeing it in the direction of its width w. Thisheight H is not uniform and slightly changes along the direction ofthickness t of the lens element 31. FIG. 3C is a side plan view of thelens element 31 when seeing it in the direction of its width w. An upperedge line 14 shows the uppermost portion of the side plane 12 while alower edge line 16 shows the_lowermost portion of the side plane 13. Asshown in FIG. 3C, two lines 14 and 16 are slightly slanted with respectto the perpendicular line of the lens formation plane, and the height His gradually reduced along the path from the lens formation plane sideto the plane side opposing thereto, so that when seeing the lens element31 in the direction of its width w, it comes to show a trapezoidalexternal form or the like. The change in this height H is so small, butFIG. 3C exaggeratingly shows it for better understanding.

[0117]FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the constitution of a lenselement array 41 according to the fourth embodiment of the invention.The lens element array 41 is made up of a plurality of lens elements 1which are connected in series with one another to form an arrayextending in one direction. That is, the lens element array 41 is madeof the optical substrate and includes a plurality of lens portions 2arranged to form an array thereof, a plurality of edge portions 6, eachof which is located on the lower side of the external circumference ofeach lens portion 2 and has a circular arc shape lying along thecircular circumference of the lens portion 2, and a handling/supportingportion 4 a which is formed to connect and integrate all of the lensportions 2. The handling/supporting portion 4 a is connected with eachlens portions 2 on the other side of the external circumference thereof,extends in the direction of the aligned lens portions 2 on the surfaceapproximately in parallel with the surface of the lens portions 2, goingacross the lens portions 2, and connects and supports all the lensportions 2. The upper plane of the handling/supporting portion. 4 a isflatly formed as an upper flat plane 47 in order to make it possible tosuck and hold the handling/supporting portion 4 a by means of vacuum.

[0118] Similar to the case of the lens element 1, the edge portion 6 ofthe lens element array 41 extends the circular arc shaped external formof it from the lens formation plane side to the opposite plane side toform the projection portion 9. In this case, it is preferable that theouter diameter of this projection portion 9 coincides with that of theoptical fiber optically connected with the lens element array 41 whenmounting the lens element array 41 on the semiconductor substrate. Withthis, the optical axis of each lens portion 2 in the lens element array41 can come to coincide with that of the corresponding optical fiberwith ease. In FIG. 4, all the projection portions are drawn as if theyhad the same outer diameter. However, if the outer diameter of theoptical fiber coupled with the lens portion is made different dependingon the lens portion, each projection portion 9 may be formed to have adifferent outer diameter corresponding to that of the optical fiber.

[0119] Furthermore, the lens element array 41 may be provided with themark 20 as shown in FIG. 2 and the groove for positioning use as shownin FIGS. 3A and 3B.

[0120] Still further, in the above lens element and lens element array,the edge portion 6 is formed so as to surround in part the outsidecircumference of the lens portion 2, but it is also possible to form theedge portion 6 such that the outside circumference of the lens portion 2serves as an element constituting the edge portion 6.

[0121] A method for manufacturing lens elements as described before willnow be explained in the following, with reference to FIGS. 5A through5D, and FIGS. 6 and 7. The following description is mainly directed tothe method for manufacturing the lens element 1, but the method isapplicable not only to variations of the lens element 1, but also tolens elements 21, 31, lens element array 41, and variations derivedtherefrom.

[0122] A manufacturing method according to the fifth embodiment of theinvention will now be explained with reference to FIG. 5A through 5D, 6,and 7. FIG. 5A through 5D are typical cross sectional views forexplaining the manufacturing process. In this example, a semiconductorsubstrate of the Silicon-On-Insulator (SOI) type (referred to as “SOIsubstrate” hereinafter) is first prepared as an optical substrate 100.As shown in FIG. 5A, the SOI substrate 100 has such a structure that ismade up of an upper SOI layer 100 a, a lower Si layer 100 c and a middleSiO₂ layer 100 b sandwiched between the above two layers 100 a and 100c. The SOI layer 100 a is made of silicon. For instance, a silicon waferof 4-inch outer diameter can be used for forming the SOI substrate 100.The thickness of each layer in this example is as follows. That is, theSOI layer 100 a has a thickness of 100 μm, the SiO₂ layer 100 b has athickness of 1 to 2 μm, and the Si layer 100 c has a thickness of 500μm.

[0123] Then, as shown in FIG. 5B, a plurality of lens portions 2 areformed on the surface of the SOI layer 100 a at predetermined intervals.In the formation of these lens portions 2, it is possible to make use ofphoto-lithography and etching technique such as a Reactive Ion Etching(RIE) method and so on which is used in the process of manufacturingsemiconductor device. That is, a lot of lens portions 2 having desirableoptical characteristics can be formed all at once and with highprecision, by applying the photo-lithography and_etching technique tothe surface of the SOI layer 100 a.

[0124] In the next step as shown in FIG. 5C, the edge portion 6, theprojection portion 9, and the handling/supporting portion 104 a areformed in contact with the circumference of each lens portion 2. FIG. 6is a top plan view showing the resultant of the above step, and FIG. 5Cis a sectional view corresponding to that which is taken on line A-A′ ofFIG. 6. As will be seen from FIG. 6, a plurality of lens portions 2 areformed into a plurality of rows on the SOI substrate 100. The edgeportion 6 is formed taking the form of a circular arc as drawn along apart of the outer circumference of each lens portion 2. The circular arcshaped external form of the edge portion 6 is extended from the surfaceof the SOI layer 100 a to the surface of the SiO₂ layer 100 b, therebythe barrel roof shaped projection portion 9 being formed. Furthermore,the handling/supporting portion 104 a is such that it is connected withthe lens portion 2 through the other side of its circumference, andextends on a plane approximately in parallel with the surface of thelens portion 2, going across the lens portion 2 in the row directionthereof, and connects and integrates all the lens portions 2 containedin one row to form a bar-shaped lens element aggregation 112. As aresult, the bar-shaped lens element aggregation 112 comes to include aplurality of lens portions 2 aligned in one row and thehandling/supporting portion 104 a integrating those lens portions 2 andextending in one direction. Therefore, a plurality of bar-shaped lenselement aggregations 112 are formed into a plurality of rows on the SOIsubstrate 100.

[0125] This process (FIG. 5C) is an etching process for chemicallyetching the SOI substrate 100 including a plurality of lens elementaggregations 112 by using a photomask provided with a patterncorresponding to that of lens element aggregations 112 as arranged onthe SOI substrate 100. This etching process is continuously carried outuntil the surface of the SiO₂ layer 100 b positioned between every twoadjacent lens element aggregations 112 is exposed. With this, each lenselement aggregation 112 is formed on the substrate.

[0126] After the above etching process, the entirety of the substrate isdipped into a solution of hydrofluoric acid (HF). The HF solution actson the SiO2 layer 100 b to remove it but does not act on the Si layer100 c and SOI(Si) layer 100 a, so that the SOI layer 100 a is separatedfrom the Si layer 100 c. If there is a certain solution capable ofperforming the same selective etching as the HF solution, it may be usedon behalf of the HF solution. With separation of the lens elementaggregation 112 from the Si layer 100 c lying thereunder, each ofbar-shaped lens element aggregations 112 is separated from the substrateas shown in FIG. 5D.

[0127]FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the principal part of theconstitution of the lens element aggregation 112. As described above,the handling/supporting portion 104 a extending in one direction and aplurality of lens portions 2 are connected with each other, therebybeing integrated into a single body as a whole, which constitutes abar-shaped lens element aggregation 112. Consequently, in the followingmanufacturing process, it becomes possible to handle the lens elementaggregation 112 including a plurality lens portions as one unit. Inother words, it becomes possible to handle a plurality of lens portions2 in a lump by means of the lens element aggregation 112.

[0128] Immediately before the mounting process of the lens element 1,the bar-shaped lens element aggregation 112 is cut off at a desiredcutting position 114 (see FIG. 7), thereby forming a single lens element1. The cutting position 114 is determined such that it is locatedbetween adjacent lens portions 2 connected with the handling/supportingportion 104 a. After the lens element aggregation 112 is divided intosingle lens elements 1 with the above cutting process, thehandling/supporting portion 104 a of the lens element aggregation 112comes to function as the handling portion 4 for each lens element 1 asseparated.

[0129] In the above description, there have been explained the lenselement 1 having one lens portion 2 and the method of manufacturing thesame. However, this method can be used for manufacturing the lenselement array having a plurality of lens portions 2. The lens elementarray having two or more lens portions 2 can be manufactured by settingthe cutting position 114 (FIG. 7) not between adjacent lens portions butby setting it in a desired position appropriately. For instance, thelens element array 41 having four lens portions as shown in FIG. 4 canbe manufactured by setting the cutting position 114 such that thehandling/supporting portion 4 a includes four lens portions 2.Furthermore, it is possible to first design a lens element aggregation112 having a desired number of lens portions 2 and then, to manufacturea desired lens element array by using the above lens element aggregation112 itself without cutting it off any more.

[0130] The above cutting process may be carried out by using a dicingsaw, a diamond blade, and so forth. In this case, the side faces 12 ofthe lens element 1 after cutting come to have a quality depending on theway of cutting it.

[0131] As described above, according to the fifth embodiment of theinvention, there is formed, in the manufacturing process, the lenselement aggregation 112, Wherein a plurality of lens portions 2 areconnected together by means of the handling/supporting portion 104 a tobe integrated into one body. With this, even after forming lens portions2, it becomes unnecessary to handle lenses separated in pieces, and itbecomes possible to handle a plurality of lens portions in a lump. Thisbrings an advantageous effect that collection and handling of lenselements are carried out with ease. Furthermore, in the process offorming a thin film for coating use, such as an anti-reflection film, anoptical filter film, and so forth, what has to be done is just to putlens element aggregations 112 into the vapor deposition apparatus. Ifthe position of the lens element aggregation in the vapor depositionapparatus is adjusted such that it directs to a predetermined direction,all the lens elements forming the lens element aggregationsimultaneously come to direct to the same predetermined direction as thelens element aggregation. This means that all the film formation planesof lens elements direct to the same predetermined direction.Accordingly, uniform thin films can be formed under the same conditionwith high quality and accuracy. Furthermore, as lens elements are nothandled individually, manpower and time needed for handling themindividually can be saved to a great extent. Handling of lens elementsis made very much easier.

[0132]FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the principal part of theconstitution of a lens element aggregation 122 as formed in the processof manufacturing lens elements according to the sixth embodiment of theinvention. In this embodiment, the constitution of thehandling/supporting portion of the lens element aggregation is differentfrom that of the fifth embodiment as described above. Therefore, thefollowing description will be made focusing only on this differentpoint, and the similar points, for instance the manufacturing process ofthe lens portion 2 and so on, will not be touched to avoid therepetitive redundant description.

[0133] According to this sixth embodiment, a lens element aggregation122 is formed on behalf of the lens element aggregation 112 according tothe fifth embodiment. The lens element aggregation 122 is made in theform of a bar and includes a plurality of lens portions 2 arranged toextend in one direction at a predetermined interval, and ahandling/supporting portion 124 a extending in this direction. As shownin FIG. 8, the handling/supporting portion 124 a is formed such that itis connected with each upper side circumference of lens portions 2 asaligned to make a row of them, and extends in the direction of this row,going across these lens portions 2 on a plane approximately in parallelwith the surface of the lens portion 2, and connects all the lensportions 2 included in one row to integrate them. Still further, thehandling/supporting portion 124 a includes a plurality of nicks 126.

[0134] The nick 126 is located between adjacent lens portions 2 of thehandling/supporting portion 124 a. The position of the nick may beformed to coincide with the cutting position 114 as shown in FIG. 7. Thenick is formed as a groove having a V-shaped cross section, whichextends in the direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction ofthe handling/supporting portion 124 a.

[0135] The first step to be taken for forming the lens elementaggregation 122 is to design a pattern of which the form corresponds tothe lens element aggregation 122 including the handling/supportingportion 124a having nicks 126 and then, a photomask pattern is preparedbased on this pattern. The lens element aggregation 122 is then formedthrough a predetermined etching process using the above pattern as aphotomask pattern in the same manner as the lens element aggregation 112in the fifth embodiment of the invention.

[0136] Immediately before moving to the process of mounting the lenselement 51, the lens element aggregation 122 is fractured at respectivenicks 126, and is divided into a plurality of individual lens elements51 as shown in FIG. 9. Due to presence of the nick 126, thehandling/supporting portion 124 a can be fractured with ease at the nick126 only by applying a weak force to an appropriate part of the lenselement aggregation 122. The lens element 51 is similar to the lenselement 1 as shown in FIG. 1 except only one point that the former has aside face 52 different from that of the latter with respect to the formthereof. The side face 52 of the lens element 51 includes a part of thenick 126 as formed by etching and a fracture-plane resulting from thefracture of the handling/supporting portion 124 a. A part separated fromthe handling/supporting portion 124 a by the above fracture is called ahandling portion 54. Similar to the handling portion 1, this handlingportion 54 facilitates the handling of individual lens elements in theprocess of mounting them.

[0137] In the above, there has been explained such an example that thelens element 1 has one lens portion 2. However, the invention should notbe limited by this example. For instance, a lens element array having aplurality of lens portions can be manufactured by properly setting theposition of the nick 126 provided on the handling/supporting 124 a inthe similar manner that there are set the cutting position 114 in thefifth embodiment. FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the principal part ofthe lens element aggregation 122 a as formed in the process ofmanufacturing a lens element array including three lens portions 2. InFIG. 10, the nick 126 is provided every three lens portions 2.

[0138] As described above, according to the sixth embodiment of theinvention, similar to the fifth one, there is formed, in themanufacturing process, the lens element aggregation 122, into which aplurality of lens portions 2 connected together by means of thehandling/supporting portion 124 a are integrated. With this, no workhandling lenses separated in pieces becomes necessary even afterformation of lens portions 2, and it becomes possible to handle aplurality of lens portions in a lump. As the result, there can beobtained such an advantageous effect that collection and handling oflens elements are carried out with ease. Furthermore, in the process offorming a thin film such as an anti-reflection film, an optical filter,and so forth, what has to be done is just to put lens elementaggregations 122 into the vapor deposition apparatus. If the position ofthe lens element aggregation in the vapor deposition apparatus isadjusted such that it directs to a predetermined direction, all the lenselements forming the lens element aggregation simultaneously come todirect to the same predetermined direction as the lens elementaggregation. This means that all the film formation planes of lenselements direct to the same predetermined direction. Accordingly,uniform thin films can be formed under the same condition with highquality and accuracy. Furthermore, as lens elements are not handledindividually, manpower and time needed for handling them individuallycan be saved to a great extent. Handling of lens elements is made verymuch easier. Still further, in addition to the effect obtainable fromthe fifth embodiment, provision of the nick 126 brings such an effectthat lens elements can be divided into an individual one with ease.

[0139]FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the principal part of theconstitution of a lens element aggregation 132 as formed in the processof manufacturing lens elements according to the seventh embodiment ofthe invention. In this embodiment, the constitution of the nick asformed on the handling/supporting portion is different from that whichis formed and used in the above sixth embodiment. Therefore, thefollowing description will be made focusing only on this differentpoint, and the similar points, for instance the manufacturing process ofthe lens portion 2 and so on, will not be described to avoid therepetitive redundant description.

[0140] According to this seventh embodiment, a lens element aggregation132 as shown in FIG. 11 is formed on behalf of the lens elementaggregation 122 according to the sixth embodiment. The lens elementaggregation 132 is made in the form of a bar and includes a plurality oflens portions 2 arranged to extend in one direction at a predeterminedinterval, and a handling/supporting portion 134 a extending in thisdirection. As shown in FIG. 11, the handling/supporting portion 134 a isformed such that it is connected with each upper side circumference oflens portions 2 as aligned to make a row of them, and extends in thedirection of this row, going across these lens portions 2 on a planeapproximately in parallel with the surface of the lens portion 2, andconnects all the lens portions 2 included in one row to integrate them.Still further, the handling/supporting portion 134 a includes aplurality of nicks 136.

[0141] The nick 136 is located between adjacent lens portions 2 of thehandling/supporting portion 134 a. The position of the nick 136 may beformed to coincide with the cutting position 114 as shown in FIG. 7. Thenick 136 is formed as a groove having a V-shaped cross section, whichopens in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the lens portion2 and has a depth in the direction also perpendicular to the surface ofthe lens portion 2. The nick 136 is different from the nick 126 as shownin FIG. 8 with regard to the depth direction of the groove.

[0142] The first step to be taken for forming the lens elementaggregation 132 is to design a pattern of which the form corresponds tothe lens element aggregation 132 including the handling/supportingportion 134 a having nicks 136 and then, to prepare a photomask patternbased on this pattern. In this case, however, the most important thingis to design the pattern by taking account of the relation between thesize of the opening portion of the nick 136 and the etching rate. Inother words, it is needed to precisely design the pattern such that theopening portion of the nick 136 does not reach the opposite plane of thesubstrate when having finished the etching for forming the lens elementaggregation 132. The lens element aggregation 132 is formed in the samemanner as the lens element aggregation 112 according to the fifthembodiment, by using this pattern as a photomask pattern.

[0143] Immediately before moving to the process of mounting the lenselement 1, the lens element aggregation 132 is fractured at respectivenicks 136, and is divided into a plurality of individual lens elementssimilar to the lens element 1 as shown in FIG. 1. Due to presence of thenick 136, the handling/supporting portion 134 a can be fractured withease at the nick 136 only by applying a weak force to an appropriatepart of the lens element aggregation 132. The side face of the lenselement after being formed includes a part of the nick 136 as formed byetching and a fracture-plane resulting from the fracture of thehandling/supporting portion 134 a. A part separated from thehandling/supporting portion 134 a by the above fracture is called ahandling portion. This handling portion facilitates the handling ofindividual lens elements in the process of mounting them.

[0144] Similar to the embodiments as have been described so far, an lenselement array having a plurality of lens portions 2 may be manufacturedby properly setting the position of the nick 136 on thehandling/supporting portion 134 a.

[0145] As described above, according to the seventh embodiment of theinvention, similar to the embodiments as have been described thus far,there is formed, in the manufacturing process, the lens elementaggregation 132, into which a plurality of lens portions 2 connectedtogether by means of the handling/supporting portion 134 a areintegrated. With this, no work handling lenses separated in piecesbecomes necessary even after formation of lens portions 2, and itbecomes possible to handle a plurality of lens portions in a lump. Asthe result, there can be obtained such an advantageous effect thatcollection and handling of lens elements are carried out with ease.Furthermore, in the process of forming a thin film such as ananti-reflection film, an optical filter, and so forth, what has to bedone is just to put lens element aggregations 132 into the vapordeposition apparatus. If the position of the lens element aggregation inthe vapor deposition apparatus is adjusted such that it directs to apredetermined direction, all the lens elements forming the lens elementaggregation simultaneously come to direct to the same predetermineddirection as the lens element aggregation. This means that all the filmformation planes of lens elements direct to the same predetermineddirection. Accordingly, uniform thin films can be formed under the samecondition with high quality and accuracy. Furthermore, as lens elementsare not handled individually, manpower and time needed for handling themindividually can be saved to a great extent. Handling of lens elementsis made very much easier. Still further, in this embodiment, the planeof the handling/supporting portion 134 a on the back side of the lensportion 2 has no opening portion of the nick 136. Therefore, the lenselement aggregation 132 can be arranged on a mounting sheet or the likeas it is even after forming it, thus facilitating the shift to themounting step.

[0146]FIG. 12 is a plan view showing a lens element aggregation group asformed in the process of manufacturing lens elements according to theeighth embodiment of the invention. This embodiment adopts theconstitution of the lens element aggregation group, which is formed bygrouping a series of lens element aggregations. This is only one pointthat makes the eighth embodiment different from the previousembodiments. Therefore, the following description will be made focusingonly on this different point, and the similar points, for instance themanufacturing process of the lens portion 2 and so on, will not betouched to avoid the repetitive redundant description.

[0147] In this embodiment, the lens element aggregation group 142 asshown in FIG. 12 is formed on behalf of the lens element aggregation asdescribed before. In this example, the lens element aggregation group142 adopts such constitution that a plurality of bar-shaped lens elementaggregations 122 arranged in the same manner as shown in FIG. 8 areintegrated into one body by means of two side connecting portions 144,each of which connects all the end portions located on the same side ofthe lens element aggregations. In other words, in the lens elementaggregation group 142, a plurality of lens portions 2 are formed andarranged in a two-dimensional plane approximately in parallel with thesurface of the lens portion 2, and all of these lens portions 2 areconnected by means of the handling/supporting portion 124 and theconnecting portion 144, thereby being integrated into one body.

[0148] When forming the lens element aggregation group 142, the lenselement aggregation 112 as shown in FIG. 7 or the lens elementaggregation 132 as shown in FIG. 11 may be used in place of the lenselement aggregation 122. Also, the lens element aggregation group 142may be made up of a plurality of lens portions 2 as arranged in thetwo-dimensional form, the handling/supporting portion and connectingportion which connect all the lens portions 2 to integrate them into onebody. In this example, the lens element aggregation group 142 is made upof a plurality of lens element aggregations including nicks 126, but thepresence of the nick is not always an indispensable matter.

[0149] The first step to be taken for forming the lens elementaggregation group 142 is to design a pattern of which the formcorresponds to the lens element aggregation group 142 in theabove-mentioned form. The lens element aggregation group 142 is thenformed through a predetermined etching process using the above patternas a photomask pattern in the same manner as the lens elementaggregation 112 in the fifth embodiment of the invention.

[0150] Immediately before moving to the process of mounting the lenselement, the lens element aggregation group 142 is fractured atrespective nicks 126, and is divided into a plurality of individual lenselements. The lens element aggregation group 142 has the same nick 126as the lens element aggregation 122 as shown in FIG. 8, so that thehandling/supporting portion 124 a and the side connecting portion 144can be fractured with ease at the nick 126. The side face of the lenselement after being formed includes a part of the nick 126 as formed byetching and a fracture-plane resulting from the fracture of thehandling/supporting portion 124 a. A part separated from thehandling/supporting portion 124 a by the above fracture is called ahandling portion. This handling portion facilitates the handling ofindividual lens elements in the process of mounting them. Furthermore,similar to the embodiments as previously described, a lens element arrayincluding a plurality of lens portions can be manufactured by properlysetting the position of the nick 126 on the handling/supporting portion124 a.

[0151] As described above, according to the eighth embodiment of theinvention, there is formed the lens element aggregation group 142,wherein a plurality of lens portions 2 are connected together by meansof the handling/supporting portion 124 a and the side connecting portion144 to be integrated into one body. With this, even after forming lensportions 2, it becomes unnecessary to handle lenses separated in piecesand a plurality of lens portions can be handled in a lump. This bringssuch an advantageous effect that collection and handling of lenselements are carried out with ease. Furthermore, in the process offorming a coating film such as an anti-reflection film, an opticalfilter, and so forth, what has to be done is just to put lens elementaggregations 142 into the vapor deposition apparatus. If the position ofthe lens element aggregation in the vapor deposition apparatus isadjusted such that it directs to a predetermined direction, all the lenselements forming the lens element aggregation simultaneously come todirect to the same predetermined direction as the lens elementaggregation. This means that all the film formation planes of lenselements direct to the same predetermined direction. Accordingly,uniform thin films can be formed under the same condition with highquality and accuracy. Furthermore, as lens elements are not handledindividually, manpower and time needed for handling them individuallycan be saved to a great extent. Handling of lens elements is made verymuch easier. Especially, in this embodiment, as the lens elementaggregation like ones 112, 122, 122 a, and 132 can be handled in a lump,easiness in the collection and handling thereof is enhanced.Furthermore, as the handling/supporting portion of the lens elementaggregation group is provided with nicks, separation of the lens elementaggregation group into individual lens element is carried out with ease.

[0152] In the above example, a plurality of lens element aggregationsare connected with one another through both side ends of theirhandling/supporting portions by means of two side connecting portions,but they may be connected one another through either one of both sideends of the same by means of a single side connecting portions.

[0153]FIGS. 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining a method formanufacturing a lens element according to the ninth embodiment of theinvention, wherein FIG. 13A is a schematic plan view showing theconstitution as made up of a plurality of lens element aggregationgroups and a frame, all of which are formed on a substrate. As shown inFIG. 13A, a plurality of lens element aggregation groups 142 are formedon an optical substrate 100 while a ring-shaped frame 150 is formed togo along the circumference of the substrate 100. All the lens elementaggregation groups 142 are connected with the frame 150, thereby beingintegrated into one body. The frame 150 is formed to have a thicknesswhich is thicker than that of the lens element aggregation group 142. InFIG. 13A, the detailed constitution of the lens element aggregationgroup 142 is omitted but FIG. 13B shows it in detail, instead. FIG. 13Bis an enlarged view showing a principal part of the lens elementaggregation group 142. Adjacent lens element aggregation groups 142 areconnected with each other by commonly having a connecting portion 144.The lens element aggregation group 142 can be formed to have such asmall size as 1 cm square.

[0154] In this embodiment, the constitution of the bar-shaped lenselement aggregation formed on the optical substrate 100 is similar tothat of the lens element aggregation as shown in FIG. 8. However, theinvention should not be limited by this example, and there may beadopted the lens element aggregation 112, 122, 122 a, 132, or othersthan these. The frame 150 may be designed also in an arbitrary form.Whichever lens element aggregations and frames may be adopted, however,a plurality of lens element aggregation groups 142 and the frame 150 asformed on the optical substrate 100 have to be connected with both ofthe connecting portion and the peripheral portion of the opticalsubstrate, thereby being integrated into one body.

[0155] In the next, an example of a method for manufacturing a lenselement according to this embodiment will be described with reference toFIGS. 14A through 14E. These figures are typical sectional views showinga principal part of the manufacturing process and correspond to thesectional views taken along a line B-B′ of FIG. 13A. In this example, acircular SOI substrate 100 is used as an optical substrate, forinstance. As shown in FIG. 14A, the SOI substrate 100 is made up of aSOI (Si) layer 100 a as an upper layer, a Si layer 100 c as a lowerlayer, and a SiO₂ layer 100 b as an middle layer sandwiched between theabove two layers 100 a and 100 c.

[0156] First of all, as shown in FIG. 14B, a plurality of lens portions2 are formed on the surface of the SOI layer 100 a at predeterminedintervals. In the formation of these lens portions 2, a lot of lensportions 2 having desirable optical characteristics can be formed all atonce and with high precision by treating the surface of the SOI layer100 a by means of the etching technique, for instance thephoto-lithography and etching technique such as a RIE method and so on.

[0157] In the next step, as shown in FIG. 14C, the edge portion 6, theprojection portion 9, and the handling supporting portion 124 a areformed to surround the circumference of each lens portion 2, and theconnecting portion 144 is also formed at the same time, though it is notshown. As the result of forming the above four portions, a peripheraledge portion 100 a′ made of the SOI layer comes to remain on theperipheral edge of the SOI substrate 100. Each of portions as mentionedabove is formed through the process of etching treatment with the helpof a photomask pattern. This photomask pattern is prepared based on thearrangement pattern, according to which there are arranged a pluralityof lens element aggregation groups 142 of which each includes aplurality of lens element aggregations 122, the connecting portions 144,and the peripheral edge portion 100 a′.

[0158] Then, as shown in FIG. 14D, a ring-shaped frame 150 made of Sisubstrate and having the same outer diameter as the SOI substrate 100,is joined to the external end part of the peripheral edge portion 100 a′such that the circumference of the frame 150 coincides with the that ofthe SOI substrate 100. The frame 150 and the peripheral edge portion 100a′ may be joined to each other by the prior art direct joining method aswell known or by using other joint material such as solder. If the outerdiameter of the circular SOI substrate is four inches, the ring-shapedframe 150 is allowed to have the following dimension, the outer diameterof four inches, the inner diameter of 3.75 inches, and a thickness of500 μm.

[0159] Then, the entirety of the substrate is dipped into a solution ofhydrofluoric acid (HF) to remove the SiO₂ layer 100 b, therebyseparating the SOI layer 100 a from the Si layer 100 c. With this, asshown in FIG. 14E, the Si layer 100 c lying under the lens elementaggregation 122 is separated and removed, and there is achieved theconstitution as shown in FIGS. 13A and 13B, which is made up of aplurality of lens element aggregation groups 142 including a pluralityof lens element aggregations 122, the connecting portions 144, theperipheral edge portion 100 a′, and the frame 150.

[0160] As described above, according to the ninth embodiment, there areintegrated into one body a plurality of lens element aggregation groups142 as collectively formed and the frame 150 having a thickness thickerthan the lens element aggregation group 142 as formed on the peripheraledge portion 100 a′. With this, in addition to the advantageous effectsbrought by the previous embodiments, there is obtained another effectthat the collection and handling of lens elements after forming them arefurther facilitated, because a great number of lens portions 2 formed onthe optical substrate 100 can be handled in a lump. The frame 150 has asufficient thickness, so that it can firmly support a plurality of lenselement aggregation groups 142 with the help of the peripheral edgeportion 100 a′ and the connecting portion 144, thus making it possibleto handle the lens element aggregation groups by an automatic machine.

[0161] The lens element 21 or the lens element 31 can be manufactured inthe same way as the lens element 1 as described before. In this case,the etching treatment is carried out by using a photomask of which apattern corresponds to the form of the mark 20 or the grooves 10 a, 10b, and 10 c for use in positioning. With this, the lens elementaggregation is formed, from which a plurality of lens elements areproduced.

[0162] In the next, an optical module using the above-mentioned lenselements will be described by way of certain examples. FIG. 15 shows aperspective view of an optical module 200 according to the tenthembodiment of the invention. The optical module 200 includes asupporting substrate 210 formed of silicon crystal, for instance; alight source 212 like a laser diode, which is provided on the surface210 a of the supporting substrate 210; an optical fiber 214 arrangedsuch that it lies along a groove 213 formed on the surface 210 a of thesupporting substrate 210 to receive light rays from the light source212, one end of it being set at a predetermined position by the groove213; and two lens elements 1 arranged with a predetermined distancebetween the optical fiber 214 and the light source 212.

[0163] The lens formation surface of the lens element 1 located on theside of the light source 212 is arranged to face to the light sourceside while the lens formation surface of the lens element 1 located onthe side of the optical fiber 214 is arranged to face to the opticalfiber side. The lens element 1 on the side of the light source 212 hasthe collimating function of converting the divergent light rays into theparallel luminous flux when it receives the divergent light rays fromthe light source 212. The lens element 1 on the side of the opticalfiber 214 condenses the above parallel luminous flux toward the centerportion of the end face 214 a of the optical fiber 214.

[0164] The lens portion 2 of the lens element 1 is formed such that theouter diameter of it is smaller than that of the optical fiber 214. Thecircular arc shaped projection portion 9 is formed such that the outerdiameter of it is approximately equal to that of the optical fiber 214.If the optical fiber 214 is formed of a single mode optical fiber, theouter diameter becomes about 125 μm and that of the circular arc shapedprojection portion 9 becomes approximately equal to the above.

[0165] The groove portion 213 formed on the supporting substrate 210 hasa V-shaped cross section. The optical fiber 214 is mounted on the grooveportion 213 such that the circumferential wall portion of it is acceptedin part by the groove portion 213. With this, the optical fiber 214comes to be suitably supported by the supporting substrate 210. Two lenselements 1 are arranged such that their projection portions 9 come incontact with the groove 231, respectively. As mentioned above,respective outer diameters of the projection portion 9 and the opticalfiber 214 are set to be approximately equal to each other, so that itbecomes possible to coincide respective optical axes of the opticalfiber 214 and two lens elements 1 with each other by mounting theprojection portion 9 and the optical fiber 214 on the groove portion 213to be accepted in part. At this time, the flat bottom plane 8 of thehandling portion 4 of the lens element 1 may ride on the surface 210 aof the supporting substrate 210. Accordingly, it is possible to fix thelens element 1 to the supporting substrate 210 through the above bottomplane 8.

[0166] The light source 212 is fixed to the surface 210 a through anelectrode 212′ in the vicinity of the end portion of the groove portion213. The light emitting plane of the light source 212 is arranged suchthat its optical axis coincides with that of the optical fiber 214. Theelectrode 212′ can be formed by means of the photolithographic techniqueas often used in the process of manufacturing semiconductor devices.

[0167] In the example as described above, a pair of lens elementsarranged between the light source 212 and the optical fiber 214 areidentical to each other. However, the invention should not be limited bythis example. Two lens elements having different focal distances may beadopted depending on the use of the optical module.

[0168] As a variation of the tenth embodiment, it is possible toconsider an optical module using the lens array 41 as shown in FIG. 4 onbehalf of the lens element 1. In this case, the supporting substrate hasa plurality of groove portions, the number of which corresponds to thenumber of projection portions 9 included in the lens array 41. Also, theinterval and the dimension of the groove portion correspond to those ofprojection portions 9 included in the lens array 41. The lens array 41is arranged on the supporting substrate such that each projectionportion 9 of the lens array 41 comes in contact with each grooveportion. The optical fiber is set on each groove portion such that eachlens portion 2 of the lens array 41 opposes to each end face of theoptical fiber. With arrangement of the lens array and the optical fiberlike the above, there is provided the optical module using the lensarray, wherein each lens portion 2 is optically coupled with the eachoptical fiber. In case of the optical module like the above, it is notalways necessary for the optical fiber to be arranged on all the grooveportions, and the necessary number of the optical fibers may be arrangedon the supporting substrate. In this case, it is preferable that theouter diameter of each circular arc shaped projection portion 9 of thelens array 41 is made equal to that of the optical fiber opticallycoupled with each lens portion 2 corresponding to each projectionportion 9.

[0169] In the next, an optical module using lens elements 31 and amethod for packaging the same according to the eleventh embodiment ofthe invention would be described with reference to FIGS. 16 and 17. FIG.16 is a perspective view showing a supporting substrate as used for thisoptical module. The supporting substrate 220 has the groove portion 213and a plurality of positioning marks 224 on its upper plane. Thesupporting substrate 220 is formed of silicon crystal, for instance. Thegroove portion 213 is a groove having a V-shaped cross section.

[0170] The positioning mark 224 is a mark used for positioning the lenselement 31 when mounting it. In the illustrated example, fourpositioning marks each, i.e. eight positioning marks in total, areprovided on both sides of the groove portion 213. Each position of eightpositioning marks 224 is determined to coincide with the position of theopening portions of the grooves 10 a and 10 c in the lens formationplane and the opposite plane thereof, when mounting the lens element 31on the supporting substrate 220. In the illustrated example, thepositioning mark is indicated in a cross shape, but it may be expressedin any arbitrary shape other than the cross.

[0171]FIGS. 17A and 17B show an example of an optical module 230 using asupporting substrate 220 and a lens element 31. The optical module 230is made up of a supporting substrate 220, a light source 212 using alaser diode or the like, two lens elements 31, and a optical fiber 214.Each projection portions 9 of two lens elements 31 and the optical fiber214 are arranged in the groove portion 213 to be accepted in partthereby. The light source 212, two lens elements 31, and the opticalfiber 214 are arranged with a predetermined interval and are opticallycoupled with each other. The lens formation plane of the lens element 31on the side of the light source 212 is arranged to face to the lightsource 212 while the lens formation plane of the lens element 31 on theside of the optical fiber 214 is arranged to face the optical fiber 214.The lens element 31 on the side of the light source 212 has thecollimating function of converting the divergent light rays into theparallel luminous flux when it receives the divergent light rays fromthe light source 212. The lens element 31 on the side of the opticalfiber 214 has the function of condensing the above parallel luminousflux toward the center portion of the end face of the optical fiber 214.FIG. 17A is a top plan view of the optical module 230 and FIG. 17B is asectional view taken along a line C-C′ of FIG. 17A. A dotted line asshown in FIG. 17B indicates a horizontal position, at which two lenselements 31 and the optical fiber 214 come in contact with the side wallof the groove portion 213.

[0172] In the next, there will be explained a method for packaging theoptical module 230. At first, the vacuum sucking means seizes the lenselement 31 by the upper flat plane 7 of the handling portion 4 of it.Then, the vacuum sucking means carries the lens element 31 to and mountsit on the supporting substrate 220 orienting the lens element 31 in thedirection enabling the projection portion 9 of it to come in contactwith the groove portion 213. At this time, two lens elements arearranged through the positioning operation referring to a plurality ofreference points, that is, the opening portion of the grooves 10 a and10 c formed on the lens formation plane and the opposite plane thereofof the lens element 31 as well as eight positioning marks provided onthe supporting substrate 220, and also by making use of the imageprocessing by means of a CCD camera or the like. After it has beenconfirmed that two lens elements 31 are suitably placed in predeterminedpositions, respectively, each lens elements 31 is connected with thesupporting substrate 220. In the next, the positioning of the lightsource 212 is carried out with high accuracy by using a marker forinstance in regard to the upper portion of the supporting substrate 220,and then, the light source 212 is connected with the electrode 212′ onthe supporting substrate 220 by means of solder bumps or the like.Finally, the optical fiber 214 is mounted on the groove portion 213 suchthat the circumferential wall of it comes in contact with the side wallof the groove portion 213 and then, is connected therewith by using asuitable resin or the like.

[0173] As described above, in the eleventh embodiment, the positioningof elements forming the optical module is carried out by using thegrooves 10 a and 10 c provided on the bottom plane 8 of the handlingportion 4 of the lens element 31 and the positioning marks 224 providedon the supporting substrate 220. With this, even if a lens element hassuch an external form as the lens element 31, of which the height Hgradually changes from the lens formation plane side toward the oppositeplane side thereof, it can be easily mounted with high accuracy of ±1 μmin a short period of time. As will be described later in connection withan example for comparison purpose, when using a prior art method formounting a lens element having an external form similar to that of thelens element 31, a certain error is caused by which the optical couplingefficiency is reduced. Contrary to this, according to the invention, thelens element is provided with the positioning grooves 10 a and 10 cwhile the supporting substrate is provided with the positioning marks,so that it becomes possible to carry out the highly accurate mountingwith ease.

[0174] In the next, an optical module using lens elements 31 and amethod for packaging the same according to the twelfth embodiment of theinvention will be described with reference to FIGS. 18, 19A, and 19B.FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing a supporting substrate as used forthis optical module. The supporting substrate 240 has the groove portion213 and two recesses 242 a and 242 b intersecting the groove 213 atright angles on its upper plane. The supporting substrate 240 is formedof silicon crystal, for instance. The groove portion 213 is a groovehaving a V-shaped cross section.

[0175] The recesses 242 a and 242 b are grooves for use in positioningof the lens element 31 when mounting it and have a rectangular crosssection. These recesses can be formed by dicing for instance. In thecurrent embodiment, the positioning of the lens element 31 is carriedout by using the recesses 242 a and 242 b as the positioning marks onbehalf of the positioning marks 224 used in the eleventh embodiment.

[0176]FIGS. 19A and 19B show an example of an optical module 250 using asupporting substrate 240 and a lens element 31. The optical module 250is made up of a supporting substrate 240, a light source 212 using alaser diode or the like, two lens elements 31, and a optical fiber 214.Each projection portions 9 of two lens elements 31 and the optical fiber214 are arranged in the groove portion 213 to be accepted in partthereby. The light source 212, two lens elements 31, and the opticalfiber 214 are arranged with a predetermined interval and are opticallycoupled with each other. The lens formation plane of the lens element 31on the side of the light source 212 is arranged to face to the lightsource 212 while the lens formation plane of the lens element 31 on theside of the optical fiber 214 is arranged to face the optical fiber 214.The lens element 31 on the side of the light source 212 has thecollimating function of converting the divergent light rays into theparallel luminous flux when it receives the divergent light rays fromthe light source 212. The lens element 31 on the side of the opticalfiber 214 has the function of condensing the above parallel luminousflux toward the center portion of the end face of the optical fiber 214.FIG. 19A is a top plan view of the optical module 250 and FIG. 19B is asectional view taken along a line D-D′ of FIG. 19A. A dotted line asshown in FIG. 19B indicates a horizontal position, at which two lenselements 31 and the optical fiber 214 come in contact with the side wallof the groove portion 213.

[0177] In the next, there will be explained a method for packaging theoptical module 250. At first, the vacuum sucking means seizes the lenselement 31 by the upper flat plane 7 of the handling portion 4 of it.Then, the vacuum sucking means carries the lens element 31 to and mountsit on the supporting substrate 240 orienting the lens element 31 in thedirection enabling the projection portion 9 of it to come in contactwith the groove portion 213. At this time, two lens elements arearranged through the positioning operation referring to a plurality ofreference points, that is, the position of the opening portion of thegrooves 10 a and 10 c provided on the lens formation plane and theopposite plane thereof of the lens element 31 as well as the edge of therecesses 242 a and 242 b provided on the supporting substrate 240, andalso by making use of the image processing by means of a CCD camera orthe like. After it has been confirmed that two lens elements 31 aresuitably placed in the predetermined positions, respectively, athermosetting resin is uniformly applied to the upper surface of thesupporting substrate 240. Then, the supporting substrate is pressed witha predetermined pressure force from its upper side and at the same time,it is heated from its lower side, thereby curing the resin. With this,the lens element 31 is connected with the supporting substrate 240. Inthe next, the positioning of the light source 212 is carried out withhigh accuracy by using a marker for instance, in regard to the upperportion of the supporting substrate 240, and then, the light source 212is connected with the electrode (not shown) on the supporting substrate240 by means of solder bumps or the like. Finally, the optical fiber 214is mounted on the groove portion 213 such that the circumferential wallof it comes in contact with the side wall of the groove portion 213 andthen, is connected therewith by using a suitable resin or the like.

[0178] As described above, in the current embodiment, the positioning ofelements forming the optical module is carried out by referring to thegrooves 10 a and 10 c provided on the lens element 31 as well as therecesses 242 a and 242 b provided on the supporting substrate 240. Withthis, similar to the eleventh embodiment, even if a lens element hassuch an external form as the lens element 31, it can be easily mountedwith high accuracy of ±1 μm in a short period of time. Furthermore, incase of the eleventh embodiment, if a resin is used for connectingelements forming the optical module with each other, it might happenthat the positioning marks are covered by the resin, so that the marksis made unclear. In case of the current embodiment, however, thepositioning marks 224 are not used, and the positioning of the elementsis carried out by means of the recesses 242 a and 242 b, instead.Consequently, even if the resin is used, there is no chance that thingscapable of being a reference point, mark, or the like is made unclear bythe resin. In the above example, two recesses 242 a and 242 b areprovided for use in the positioning. However, the number of recesses maybe one or three or more if necessary.

[0179] In the explanation of the eleventh and twelfth embodiments, themethod for packaging the optical module is explained by way of anexample using the lens element 31. However, the invention is not limitedby this example. If a lens element is provided with a groove equivalentto the positioning groove of the lens element 31, the package method asdescribed above is applicable with high accuracy to the package of theoptical module using a lens element having a different external formfrom that of the lens element 31. For instance, the package method isapplicable to the optical module using a lens element of which theheight H is kept constant from the lens formation plane side through theopposite plane side thereof or a lens element of which the external formas seen when seeing it in the direction of its width w, shows the otherform than a trapezoid.

[0180] In the optical module according to the eleventh and twelfthembodiments, the light source 212 is used, but it is possible to use alight receiving element like a photodiode instead of the light source.

[0181] Next, an example of a prior art package method will be describedwith reference to FIGS. 20A, 20B, 21A and 21B in order to compare itwith the package method according to the invention. In the prior artpackage method, the positioning of each element forming an opticalmodule is carried out by using the upper side of the lens formationplane as a reference point. According to this method, however, itsometimes occurs that an error is caused depending on the external formof the lens element. FIGS. 20A and 20B are side views showing theexternal forms of two kinds of lens elements 1 a and 1 b as obtainedwhen seeing them from their sides, respectively. In the lens elements 1a and 1 b as shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B, each of lens portions 2 isequally formed on the left surface of the plane vertical to the drawingpaper. The plane, on which the lens portion 2 is formed, is called thelens formation plane. Each lens formation plane of lens elements 1 a and1 b equally has a circular form. However, lens elements 1 a and 1 b aredifferent from each other with regard to their plane external forms asobtained when taking a side view of them. The plane forms of the lenselements 1 a and 1 b on a plane approximately perpendicular to the lensformation plane are different from each other, and this difference comesout as difference of upper and lower edge lines as shown in the abovefigures.

[0182] The lens element 1 a as shown in FIG. 20A is formed in the shapeof a cylinder, and the lens portion 2 is formed on one flat plane (lensformation plane) of the lens element 1 a. On one hand, two lines (notexisting actually) indicated as the upper and lower edge lines 14 a and16 a on the outer circumferential plane (side plane of the cylinder)meet at right angles with the lens formation plane. The lens element 1 bas shown in FIG. 20B is formed in the shape of a trapezoid, and the lensportion 2 is formed on one flat plane (lens formation plane) of the lenselement 1 b. On one hand, two lines (not existing actually) indicated asthe upper and lower edge lines 14 b and 16 b on the outercircumferential plane (side plane of the frustum) do not meet at rightangles with the lens formation plane. The diameter of the lens element 1b is gradually reduced as it goes on from the lens formation planetoward the opposite plane thereof, and the plane external form of thelens element 1 b is in the shape of trapezoid when taking a side view ofit.

[0183]FIGS. 21A and 21B are cross sectional views showing respectivecases where lens elements 1 a and 1 b are mounted to couple them withrespective light sources 212 like a laser diode or the like by using theprior art package method. In FIGS. 21A and 21B, lens elements 1 a and 1b are mounted on the corresponding groove portions 263 formed on thesupporting substrates to come in contact therewith. Also, in FIGS. 21Aand 21B, a line 233 indicates the optical axis of the laser diode.

[0184] As edge lines 14 a and 16 a on the side plane of the lens element1 a meet at right angles with the lens formation plane, the lens element1 a can be arranged in a desired position as shown in FIG. 21A. On onehand, the edge line 16 b on the side plane of the lens element 1 b doesnot meet at right angles with the lens formation plane, so that if thelens element 1 b is mounted on the groove portion 263 to come in contacttherewith, the lens formation plane comes to slant from the planevertical to the groove portion 236 as shown in FIG. 21B. At this time,if the lens element 1 b is arranged by using the upper side of the lensformation plane as a reference point, the lens element 1 b is arrangedto be off the desired position as shown by two arrow marks facing toeach other in FIG. 21B. This results in a distance error in thedirection of the optical axis.

[0185] As described above, according to the prior art mounting method,the mounting error is caused depending on the external form of the lenselements. Especially, in case of the lens element of which the sideplane is formed by etching or the like, it occurs that the side plane ofthe lens element has a little angle with the direction vertical to thelens formation plane. It also occurs that a designed angle between theside plane and the lens formation plane of the lens element is notrealized for some reasons in the manufacturing process. In these cases,the distance error in the direction of the optical axis is caused withthe slant of the lens element. In some optical system, the distanceerror in the direction of the optical axis has a larger influence thanthe slant of the lens element, which becomes a significant cause forreducing the efficiency of the optical coupling between the lens elementand the laser diode, optical fiber, and so forth.

[0186] In the explanation of the prior art mounting method, there areused the lens elements of the cylinder type and of the frustum type aswell. However, even if the lens element as shown in FIG. 1 is mounted bymeans of the prior art mounting method, the similar error would neverfail to be caused.

[0187] In the above embodiments,_the form of the lens portion, edgeportion, projection portion, handling portion, handling/supportingportion, connecting portion, nick, frame, groove, groove portion,positioning mark, recess portion, and so forth is not limited to theform as described in the above various examples, and various form may beconsidered. For instance, the form of the lens portion is not limited tothe circular form and may be formed in a desired form, and the lensportion may be a lens portion of the refraction type. The form of thecross section of the nick is not limited to the V-shape and it may be aU-shape, a rectangular shape, or other shape. The form of the crosssection of the groove, groove portion, and recess portion is not limitedto the form as described in the above various examples and it may beeither one of an approximately square shape, an approximately V-shape,an approximately trapezoid shape, an approximately semicircular shapeand an approximately rectangular shape, or other shapes.

[0188] Furthermore, the luminous flux converting portion is explained interms of “lens portion” as a mere example of it. Also, terms of “lenselement” are used merely for expressing an example of various opticalmembers constituting an optical system. Accordingly, the inventionshould not be limited by these terms. For instance, the invention isapplicable to the case where the luminous flux converting portion isreplaced by an optical deflective portion while the optical member isreplaced by an optical deflective element.

[0189] According to the invention as described in detail in the above,there are provided an optical member, a method for manufacturing thesame, and an optical module including the optical member, the opticalmember being handled with ease and the luminous flux converting portionof it being protected from damage and contamination which would be givenby and come from the outside. The optical member can be easily andstably caught and held by a vacuum sucking means. Furthermore, accordingto another aspect of the invention, there are provided an optical memberwhich can be mounted with high accuracy and with ease as well, a methodfor mounting the same, and an optical module including the opticalmember as packaged therein with high accuracy and with ease as well.

[0190] While preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown anddescribed in the above with reference to the accompanying drawings, itis needless to say that the invention is not limited by such examples.It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications can be made within the category of technical thoughts asrecited in the scope of claim for patent, and it is understood thatthose changes and modifications naturally belong to the technicalcategory of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. An optical member comprising: a luminous fluxconversion portion formed on the surface of an optical substrate; anedge portion formed along a part of the circumference of said luminousflux conversion portion; and a handling portion which is provided on theside of the other part of the circumference of said luminous fluxconversion portion approximately in a plane approximately in parallelwith the surface of said luminous flux conversion portion, and isextended with a width wider than said luminous flux portion.
 2. Anoptical member as claimed in claim 1, wherein said handling portion hasa form extending straightforward and is integrated with said edgeportion at an approximately middle point between both ends thereof. 3.An optical member as claimed in claim 1, wherein said handling portiontakes the form of an approximately rectangular parallelepiped, said edgeportion takes the form of an approximately circular arc, and saidcircular arc form extends from formation plane side of said luminousflux conversion portion to the opposite plane side thereof, therebyforming a projection portion of the semi-cylindrical type.
 4. An opticalmember as claimed in claim 1, wherein said handling portion has a flatplane.
 5. An optical member as claimed in claim 4, wherein said handlingportion has a form extending straightforward, and said flat plane is aplane existing along the direction toward which said handling portionextends, and is approximately vertical to the surface of said luminousflux conversion portion.
 6. An optical member as claimed in claim 1,wherein said handling portion is asymmetrically formed with respect to avirtual plane which includes the optical axis of said luminous fluxconversion portion and goes across said handling portion, in order toidentify either one of both surfaces of said optical substrate.
 7. Anoptical member as claimed in claim 1, wherein said handling portionincludes a guide mark for identifying either of both surfaces of saidoptical substrate.
 8. An optical member as claimed in claim 1, whereinsaid optical member is an optical member to be mounted on a supportingsubstrate, said optical member being provided with a positioning markformed on the plane which is approximately vertical to the surface ofsaid luminous flux conversion portion in said handling portion andapproaches said supporting substrate at the time of mounting saidoptical member.
 9. An optical member as claimed in claim 8, wherein saidpositioning mark takes the form of a groove, of which the cross sectionhas one of the shapes of an approximately V-shape, an approximatelytrapezoid shape, an approximately semicircular shape, an approximatelyrectangle shape, and an approximately square shape.
 10. An opticalmember as claimed in claim 8, wherein said positioning mark isasymmetrically formed with respect to a virtual plane which includes theoptical axis of said luminous flux conversion portion and goes acrosssaid handling portion, in order to identify either one of both surfacesof said optical substrate.
 11. An optical member as claimed in claim 1wherein, said optical member is an optical member which is arranged on agroove portion as formed on said supporting substrate for use inarrangement of optical members, such that it opposes to the end face ofan optical fiber placed on said groove portion and achieves an opticalcoupling with said optical fiber, said edge portion has a circular arcform, which extends from said luminous flux conversion portion formationplane side to the opposite plane side thereof, and the outer diameter ofsaid circular arc shape is made approximately equal to that of saidoptical fiber.
 12. An optical member as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidoptical substrate is a silicon crystalline substrate.
 13. An opticalmember as claimed in claim 1, wherein said luminous flux conversionportion is made up of diffractive optical elements.
 14. An opticalmember as claimed in claim 1, wherein said luminous flux conversionportion is a lens.
 15. An optical member comprising: a plurality ofluminous flux conversion portions formed on the surface of an opticalsubstrate; edge portions formed along a part of respectivecircumferences of a plurality of said luminous flux conversion portions;and a handling/supporting portion which is provided on the side of theother part of respective circumferences of a plurality of said luminousflux conversion portions and is extended in a plane approximately inparallel with the surface of said luminous flux conversion portions, andconnects and supports a plurality of said luminous flux conversionportions together.
 16. An optical member as claimed in claim 15, whereina plurality of said luminous flux portions are formed in the shape of anarray, and said handling/supporting portion has a form extending alongthe longitudinal direction of said array.
 17. An optical member asclaimed in claim 15, wherein said optical substrate is a siliconcrystalline substrate.
 18. An optical member as claimed in claim 15,wherein said luminous flux conversion portion is made up of diffractiveoptical elements.
 19. An optical member as claimed in claim 15, whereinsaid luminous flux conversion portion is a lens.
 20. An optical membermanufactured by a manufacturing method including: the first step offorming a plurality of luminous flux conversion portions in the form ofan array on an optical substrate; and the second step of forming an edgeportion along a part of the circumference of each of said luminous fluxconversion portions, and a handling/supporting portion which is providedon the side of the other part of the circumference of each of saidluminous flux conversion portions and is extended to connect and supportat least two of said luminous flux conversion portions together alongthe array of said luminous flux conversion portions, whereby there isobtained an optical element aggregation provided with a plurality ofsaid luminous flux conversion portions, edge portions corresponding to aplurality of said luminous flux conversion portions, and thehandling/supporting portion connecting and supporting these together,said optical member comprising: at least one of said luminous fluxconversion portions; an edge portion formed along a part of saidluminous flux conversion portion; and a handling/supporting portionconnecting and supporting these together.
 21. An optical membermanufactured by a manufacturing method including: the first step offorming a plurality of luminous flux conversion portions in the form ofan array on an optical substrate; the second step of forming an edgeportion along a part of the circumference of each of said luminous fluxconversion portions, and a handling/supporting portion which is providedon the side of the other part of the circumference of each of saidluminous flux conversion portions and is extended to connect and supportat least two of said luminous flux conversion portions together alongthe array of said luminous flux conversion portions, whereby there isobtained an optical element aggregation provided with a plurality ofsaid luminous flux conversion portions, edge portions corresponding to aplurality of said luminous flux conversion portions, and thehandling/supporting portion connecting and supporting these together andthe third step of cutting said handling/supporting portion at apredetermined portion, thereby producing a plurality of individuallyseparated optical elements of which each includes at least one of saidluminous flux conversion portions, said optical member comprising: atleast one of said luminous flux conversion portions; an edge portionformed along a part of said luminous flux conversion portion; and ahandling portion which is formed by cutting said handling/supportingportion and is extended on the side of the other part of thecircumstance of said luminous flux conversion portion.
 22. An opticalmember manufactured by a manufacturing method including: the first stepof forming a plurality of luminous flux conversion portions in the formof an array on an optical substrate; the second step of forming an edgeportion along a part of the circumference of each luminous fluxconversion portions, a handling/supporting portion which is provided onthe side of the other part of the circumference of each of said luminousflux conversion portions and is extended to connect and support at leasttwo luminous flux conversion portions together along the array of saidluminous conversion portions, and a nick in at least one predeterminedposition corresponding to the interval between two of said luminous fluxconversion portions in the handling/supporting portion, whereby there isobtained an optical element aggregation provided with a plurality ofsaid luminous flux conversion portions, edge portions corresponding to aplurality of said luminous flux conversion portions, and thehandling/supporting portion connecting and supporting these together;and the third step of cutting said handling/supporting portion at a nickposition, thereby producing a plurality of individually separatedoptical elements of which each includes at least one of said luminousflux conversion portions, said optical member comprising: at least oneof said luminous flux conversion portions; an edge portion formed alonga part of said luminous flux conversion portion; and a handling portionwhich is formed by cutting said handling/supporting portion and isextended on the side of the other part of the circumstance of saidluminous flux conversion portion, said handling portion having a part ofsaid nick and a cut face on the side face thereof.
 23. A method formanufacturing an optical member comprising: the first step of forming aplurality of luminous flux conversion portions in the form of an arrayon an optical substrate; and the second step of forming an edge portionalong a part of the circumference of each of said luminous fluxconversion portions, and a handling/supporting portion which is providedon the side of the other part of the circumference of each of saidluminous flux conversion portions and is extended to connect and supportat least two of said luminous flux conversion portions together alongthe array of said luminous flux conversion portions, whereby there isobtained an optical element aggregation provided with a plurality ofsaid luminous flux conversion portions, edge portions corresponding to aplurality of said luminous flux conversion portions, and thehandling/supporting portion connecting and supporting these together.24. A method as claimed in claim 23 further comprising the step ofcutting said handling/supporting portion at a predetermined position,thereby dividing it into individual optical elements of which each hasat least one luminous flux conversion portion.
 25. A method as claimedin claim 23 further comprising the steps of: providing a nick in atleast one predetermined position corresponding to the interval betweensaid luminous flux conversion portions in said handling/supportingportion at the time of forming said handling/supporting portion in thesecond step; and cutting said handling/supporting portion at theposition of said nick, thereby producing individually separated opticalelements of which each has at least one luminous flux conversionportion.
 26. A method as claimed in claim 23, wherein in said firststep, there are two-dimensionally arranged a plurality of said luminousflux conversion portions in a plane approximately in parallel with thesurface of said luminous flux conversion portions; and there are formedin said second step a plurality of said optical element aggregations anda connecting portion for connecting at least each one side end of saidhandling/supporting potions of a plurality of said optical elementaggregations with one another, thereby obtaining an optical elementaggregation group.
 27. A method as claimed in claim 26 furthercomprising the step of forming a frame in at least a part of thecircumferential edge portion of said optical substrate, said frame beingconnected with said optical element aggregation group through saidconnecting portion.
 28. A method as claimed in claim 26 furthercomprising the step of cutting said handling/supporting portion at apredetermined position, thereby dividing it into individual opticalelements of which each has at least one luminous flux conversionportion.
 29. A method as claimed in claim 26 further comprising thesteps of: providing a nick in at least one predetermined positioncorresponding to the interval between said luminous flux conversionportions in said handling/supporting portion at the time of forming saidhandling/supporting portion in the second step; and cutting saidhandling/supporting portion at the position of said nick, therebydividing it into individual optical elements of which each has at leastone luminous flux conversion portion
 30. A method as claimed in claim23, wherein there are two-dimensionally arranged in said first step aplurality of said luminous flux conversion portions in a planeapproximately in parallel with the surface of said luminous fluxconversion portions; and there are formed in said second step aplurality of said optical element aggregations and a connecting portionfor connecting both ends of said handling/supporting potions of aplurality of said optical element aggregations with one another, therebyobtaining an optical element aggregation group.
 31. A method as claimedin claim 30 further comprising the step of forming a frame in at least apart of the circumferential edge portion of said optical substrate, saidframe being connected with said optical element aggregation groupthrough said connecting portion.
 32. A method as claimed in claim 30further comprising the step of cutting said handling/supporting portionat a predetermined position, thereby dividing it into individual opticalelements of which each has at least one luminous flux conversionportion.
 33. A method as claimed in claim 30 further comprising thesteps of: providing a nick in at least one predetermined positioncorresponding to the interval between said luminous flux conversionportions in said handling/supporting portion at the time of forming saidhandling/supporting portion in the second step; and cutting saidhandling/supporting portion at the position of said nick, therebydividing it into individual optical elements of which each has at leastone luminous flux conversion portion.
 34. A method for manufacturing anoptical member comprising: the first step of forming a plurality ofluminous flux conversion portions in the form of an array on the surfaceof an upper silicon layer surface of a optical substrate made up of alower silicon layer, an upper silicon layer and a middle layerintervening therebetween; the second step of forming a edge portionalong a part of the circumference of each of said luminous fluxconversion portions by etching said upper silicon layer and at the sametime, forming a handling/supporting portion by etching said uppersilicon layer, said handling/supporting portion being provided on theside of other part of the circumference of each of said luminous fluxconversion portions and extended to connect and support at least two ofsaid luminous flux conversion portions together along the array of saidluminous flux conversion portions, thereby obtaining an optical elementaggregation provide with a plurality of said luminous flux conversionportions, edge portions corresponding to said luminous flux conversionportions, and the handling/supporting portion for connecting andsupporting these altogether; and the third step of removing said middlelayer, thereby separating said lower silicon layer from said opticalelement aggregation as obtained by said second step.
 35. A method asclaimed in claim 34 further comprising the step of cutting saidhandling/supporting portion at a predetermined position, therebydividing it into individual optical elements of which each has at leastone luminous flux conversion portion.
 36. A method as claimed in claim34 further comprising the steps of: providing a nick in at least onepredetermined position corresponding to the interval between saidluminous flux conversion portions in said handling/supporting portion atthe time of forming said handling/supporting portion in the second step;and cutting said handling/supporting portion at the position of saidnick, thereby dividing it into individual optical elements of which eachhas at least one luminous flux conversion portion.
 37. A method asclaimed in claim 34, wherein in said first step, there aretwo-dimensionally arranged a plurality of said luminous flux conversionportions in a plane approximately in parallel with the surface of saidluminous flux conversion portions; and there are formed in said secondstep a plurality of said optical element aggregations and a connectingportion for connecting at least each one side end of saidhandling/supporting potions of a plurality of said optical elementaggregations with one another, thereby obtaining an optical elementaggregation group.
 38. A method as claimed in claim 37 furthercomprising the step of forming a frame in at least a part of thecircumferential edge portion of said optical substrate, said frame beingconnected with said optical element aggregation group through saidconnecting portion.
 39. A method as claimed in claim 37 furthercomprising the step of cutting said handling/supporting portion at apredetermined position, thereby dividing it into individual opticalelements of which each has at least one luminous flux conversionportion.
 40. A method as claimed in claim 37 further comprising thesteps of: providing a nick in at least one predetermined positioncorresponding to the interval between said luminous flux conversionportions in said handling/supporting portion at the time of forming saidhandling/supporting portion in the second step; and cutting saidhandling/supporting portion at the position of said nick, therebydividing it into individual optical elements of which each has at leastone luminous flux conversion portion.
 41. A method as claimed in claim34, wherein there are two-dimensionally arranged in said first step aplurality of said luminous flux conversion portions in a planeapproximately in parallel with the surface of said luminous fluxconversion portions; and there are formed in said second step aplurality of said optical element aggregations and a connecting portionfor connecting both ends of said handling/supporting potions of aplurality of said optical element aggregations with one another, therebyobtaining an optical element aggregation group.
 42. A method as claimedin claim 41 further comprising the step of forming a frame in at least apart of the circumferential edge portion of said optical substrate, saidframe being connected with said optical element aggregation groupthrough said connecting portion.
 43. A method as claimed in claim 41further comprising the step of cutting said handling/supporting portionat a predetermined position, thereby dividing it into individual opticalelements of which each has at least one luminous flux conversionportion.
 44. A method as claimed in claim 41 further comprising thesteps of: providing a nick in at least one predetermined positioncorresponding to the interval between said luminous flux conversionportions in said handling/supporting portion at the time of forming saidhandling/supporting portion in the second step; and cutting saidhandling/supporting portion at the position of said nick, therebydividing it into individual optical elements of which each has at leastone luminous flux conversion portion.
 45. A method for mounting anoptical member having a luminous flux conversion portion on a supportingsubstrate, comprising the steps of: forming the first mark for use inpositioning on the plane of said optical member, which is approximatelyvertical to the surface of said luminous flux conversion portion andapproaches said supporting substrate at the time of mounting saidoptical member; and forming the second mark for use in positioning onsaid supporting substrate, whereby said optical member is suitablymounted on the supporting substrate with the help of said first mark ofsaid optical member and said second mark on said supporting substrate.46. A method as claimed in claim 45, wherein the second mark on saidsupporting substrate is made in the shape of a recess portion.
 47. Amethod as claimed in claim 45, wherein the first mark of said opticalmember is made in the shape of a groove.
 48. A method as claimed inclaim 47, wherein the second mark on said supporting substrate is madein the shape of a recess portion.
 49. A method as claimed in claim 47,said optical member comprises: a luminous flux conversion portion formedon the surface of an optical substrate; an edge portion formed along apart of the circumference of said luminous flux conversion portion; anda handling portion which is provided on the side of the other part ofthe circumference of said luminous flux conversion portion in a planeapproximately in parallel with the surface of said luminous fluxconversion portion, and is extended with a width wider than saidluminous flux portion, wherein said groove is formed on said handlingportion.
 50. A method as claimed in claim 49, wherein the second mark onsaid supporting substrate is made in the shape of a recess portion. 51.A module comprising: a supporting substrate on the surface of which agroove portion for use in arranging members thereon is formed; anoptical fiber arranged on said groove portion; and an optical memberarranged on said groove portion such that it opposes to the end face ofsaid optical fiber and achieves an optical coupling therewith, and saidoptical member comprising: a luminous flux conversion portion formed onthe surface of an optical substrate; an edge portion formed along a partof the circumference of said luminous flux conversion portion; and ahandling portion which is provided on the side of the other part of thecircumference of said luminous flux conversion portion in a planeapproximately in parallel with the surface of said luminous fluxconversion portion, and is extended with a width wider than saidluminous flux portion.
 52. A module as claimed in claim 51, wherein saidedge portion has a circular arc form, which extends from said luminousflux conversion portion formation plane side to the opposite plane sidethereof, and the outer diameter of said circular arc shape is madeapproximately equal to that of said optical fiber.
 53. A module asclaimed in claim 51, wherein said supporting substrate is furtherprovided with a mark for positioning use; said optical member is furtherprovided with a groove for positioning use as formed in a plane which isapproximately vertical to the surface of said luminous flux conversionportion in said handling portion and approaches said supportingsubstrate at the time of mounting optical members; and said opticalmember is arranged in part on said groove portion formed on saidsupporting substrate with the help of said positioning groove of saidoptical member and said positioning mark on said supporting substrate.54. A module as claimed in claim 53, wherein said positioning mark is arecess provided in the direction intersecting said groove portion atright angles.
 55. A module comprising: a supporting substrate on thesurface of which a plurality of groove portions for use in arrangingmembers thereon is formed; a plurality of optical fibers arranged oneach of said groove portions; and optical members arranged on each ofsaid groove portions such that each of them opposes to each end face ofeach of said optical fibers and achieves an optical coupling therewith,and said optical member comprising: a plurality of luminous fluxconversion portions formed on the surface of an optical substrate; edgeportions formed along a part of respective circumference of saidluminous flux conversion portion; and a handling/supporting portionwhich is provided on the side of the other part of respectivecircumference of a plurality of said luminous flux conversion portionsin a plane approximately in parallel with the surface of said luminousflux conversion portion, and is extended to connect and support aplurality of said luminous flux conversion portions together.
 56. Amodule as claimed in claim 55, wherein each end face of a plurality ofsaid optical fibers are arranged to oppose to each of a plurality ofluminous flux conversion portions of said optical member; and Each ofsaid edge portions has a circular arc form, which extends from saidluminous flux conversion portion formation plane side to the oppositeplane side thereof, and the outer diameter of said circular arc shape ismade approximately equal to that of each of said optical fibers opposingto each of said luminous flux conversion portions corresponding to eachof said edge portion.
 57. A module as claimed in claim 55, wherein saidsupporting substrate is further provided with a positioning mark; saidoptical member is further provided with a positioning groove as formedin a plane which is approximately vertical to the surface of saidluminous flux conversion portion in said handling/supporting portion andapproaches said supporting substrate at the time of mounting opticalmembers; and said optical member is arranged in part on said grooveportion formed on said supporting substrate with the help of saidpositioning groove of said optical member and said positioning mark onsaid supporting substrate.
 58. A module as claimed in claim 57, whereinsaid position mark is a recess provided in the direction intersectingsaid groove portion at right angles.